


The Horizon

by Oceanson



Category: Glee
Genre: Alice West is Iris West, All the female characters in The Flash are awesome, Another form of Thallen, Demigods, Except I can't name her Iris since she will have the same name with the rainbow goddess, F/F, F/M, Greek gods, In another form, Inspired by Rick Riordan's PJO & HoO series, Julian Smythe and Emily are borrowed from A Change In The Weather, Juliper inspired by Cacophonylights' A Change In The Weather, M/M, Multi, Not Blaine Friendly, Not Blaine or Klaine Friendly, Not Finn friendly, Not Klaine Friendly, Some characters have the same name with "The Flash", thallen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-21
Updated: 2016-01-19
Packaged: 2018-04-10 11:04:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 85,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4389344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oceanson/pseuds/Oceanson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sebastian Smythe always knew he was different. Hiding beneath a cold mask of cruelty, he was insulting and everything connected to a jerk. But when a fight went wrong, he would realize that the fate of the entire world lies on his young shoulders. Would he open up his heart and find love in this chaos? (Inspired by Rick Riordan’s PJO & HoO series.) Huntbastian Bromance, Demigod!AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: A Fight Went Bad

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a Glee fan fiction inspired when I read the “Percy Jackson & The Olympians” series and “The Heroes of Olympians” series by Rick Riordan. I also borrow some elements from Cacophonylights’s awesome work “A Change In The Weather”. Therefore, if you find anything that looks familiar, they belong to their respective owner.
> 
> This story is NOT for Blaine, Klaine and Finn lovers. OOC is bound to happen. Don’t like, don’t read. Flames will be thrown into the Pacific Ocean.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing other than the plot and my own OCs. Emily, Julian and the relationship of Juliper belong to Cacophonylights. Carmichael belongs to my dearest friend, Eraman. Some settings in the story belong to Rick Riordan. I also DO NOT own the songs I used in this story.

"Okay, tell me why we're here again?" A grumpy voice rang in a red roadster speeding on a highway. "I could be practicing my sword fighting skills in the arena, but no, I have to be sent to this little town cramped with people close-minded as Hades!"

"That's because the Oracle of Delphi just gave another prophecy, stating that the two most powerful demigods will appear in this town, can't remember what it is called. And Chiron requested us to find one of them." A woman sitting next to the driver replied. "Besides, we aren't sure if the people of this town are all narrow-minded jerks."

"One of them? What about the other one?" A third voice sounding like he was having a severe hangover piped up.

"I don't know."

"You don't know?!" Grumpy exclaimed. "How is it possible?! You are a daughter of Athena!"

"My mother and her children are full of wisdom, but that doesn't mean we have the power of foreseeing!" The woman snapped, her light blond hair floating in the air as the wind blew in through the opened window.

"Oh, wisdom again…"

"Shut up, you child of Ares. You guys have strength, that's all you have. Even strength has to bow to wisdom most of the time."

"Stop quoting ' _Percy Jackson_ ', will you?" Grumpy groaned.

"Oh, you read the book. I'm surprised! I thought you would not make it through half of the first chapter." The woman teased.

"Oh, you little-"

"Quiet! You two! I'm driving here so please stop distracting me!" The driver barked.

"Sorry, Cooper." The two voices mumbled and the car was quiet again.

"Wait a minute." Hangover asked after several minutes of silence. "Isn't this town… Lima, is where you're from, Cooper?"

The driver, Cooper, didn't reply and the guy who asked this thought he might have crossed a line that shouldn't be crossed.

"Well, if you don't want to answer that's fine. I'm sorry for-"

"It's okay, Teddy. And yes… This is where I'm from. This is where my happiness originated… so did my pain and regret…"

Blonde gently squeezed his arm, trying to comfort her best friend.

"I take that one of the reasons why you're so eager to join this quest is that you want to see if he's still here, right?

"Yes… But I'm not sure if he still lives in here, or if he wants to see me." Cooper whispered.

The atmosphere in the car was getting more and more depressed. They all knew that the relationship Cooper had ended in the most disastrous way imaginable. Even more than 10 years since the incident, he was not yet recovered from the guilt.

"Well, why don't we listen to some music?" Hangover, or Teddy Muscato asked as he turned on the music.

**_Wishing you were somehow here again…_ **   
**_Wishing you were somehow near…_ **   
**_Sometimes it seemed if I just dreamed,_ **   
**_Somehow you would be here…_ **

Blonde and Grumpy turned to glare at Teddy, their faces clearly saying:  _"This song? Are you serious?"_  Blushing, Teddy changed the song.

_**I don't know how to love him** _   
_**What to do…** _   
_**How to move him…** _

The glares intensified and the blonde girl said in a threatening tone.

"Teddy, if the next song is not a mood-lightening one, then you better turn it off."

Teddy nodded nervously and changed the song again, praying to the Gods that it was something like  _"Just Dance"_  from Lady Gaga.

_**As my train rolls down the East coast** _   
_**I wonder how you'll keep warm.** _   
_**It's too late to cry** _   
_**Too broken to move on.** _

Hard luck for Teddy. As soon as Ron Pope's voice rang, Cooper stiffened in his seat. Teddy looked like he was going to cry and explode in embarrassment as Grumpy cursed and the blonde face-palmed.

_**Still I can't let you be** _   
_**Most nights I hardly sleep.** _   
_**Don't take what you don't need from me.** _

"Alright, that's it!" Blonde snapped. "Turn it off  **now!** "

"No." Surprisingly, Cooper objected her. "Let it be."

"But Coop-"

"I'm fine, Emily." Cooper reassured her but Emily Santia didn't look convinced.

_**It's a drop in the ocean** _   
_**A change in the weather** _   
_**I was praying that you and me might end up together.** _   
_**It's like wishing for rain as I stand in the desert** _   
_**But I'm holding you closer than most** _   
_**`Cause you are my heaven.** _

"Heaven…" Cooper whispered quietly, wondering if he had the qualification to get close to his own Heaven, or Elysium in their terms, ever again.

"Hey, bro. You have us, we're on your back, remember? We will always support you, right? Emily? Teddy?" Grumpy patted on Cooper's shoulder.

"Yeah, Billy is right, we are on your side." Emily said with a small smile. Grumpy, who is also known as William Curry, scowled at the nickname. He hated people calling him Billy.

"Yeah,  _-burp-_ , yeah." Teddy nodded. The other occupants in the car winced in disgust as the air became tainted with the smell of oxidizing alcohol and digesting food.

"You really need to wash your mouth, Teddy. It stinks." William muttered as he pinched his nose. Cooper just sighed, as much as how crazy (even by demigod standard) his friends can get, they always stood by him no matter what.

"Thanks guys." Cooper said as they drove past a sign, telling them that they had entered the town of Lima, Ohio, the birth place of Cooper; the place where his most joyful days were; the place where he believed he found his true love; the place where his pain and anguish originated; the destination of their current quest, the place where two powerful demigods would rise.

 _"_ _So here I am again. More than one decade… Hi, Lima."_  Cooper Anderson thought as the scenery around became more familiar to him.

* * *

"So, where are we going to look for this demigod?" Emily said as they drove in the streets of Lima.

"The prophecy stated that the demigod resides in a safe haven created by Lady Hecate." Cooper replied. "I think I know what this safe haven is, but it wouldn't be in this town."

"What do you know about this haven?" Teddy asked as they stopped at a red light.

"If I remembered correctly, Hecate loves to send her children to study there. Her sons went to one school while daughters went to another school. And to protect her children, she casted a spell that repelled the monsters around the two schools so they could not get in. The goddess had also made it clear that this place could not replace the function of the camp. All she did was to provide a place for her children to study without being disturbed by monsters. But gradually, the two schools became a temporary haven for demigods and the goddess didn't seem to mind that." Cooper reasoned.

"So where is that place?" Teddy asked.

"Westerville. That would be one hour away."

"One hour away… So what do we do now?" William groaned.

"How about Cooper go check on that place and the three of us check this town?" Emily suggested. "I mean, this town is not very big in size. We can see if there are any signs of demigods that may give us a clue."

"And perhaps monsters." William said as he licked his lips. "I really want to fight one."

The rest of the group rolled their eyes.

"Child of Ares…" Emily whispered. "So are we sticking to my plan?"

"I think so. I'll drop you guys off here." Cooper said as they stopped at a coffee shop named  ** _The Lima Bean_**. "Call or IM me if you have any problems, any monsters you encountered, or any demigods you came across."

"Got it." The rest of the group said as they got off the car. They waited until Cooper's car disappeared around the corner and started their exploration. Surprisingly, everything seemed calm, no monster, much to William's dismay and disappointment, though Teddy believed that he saw some Dryads looking down from the trees. Emily was busy mapping the town when they sensed it, the auras of demigod.

"That's something wrong." Emily said as they hurried towards the source of the aura. "The prophecy stated that there are only two demigods here, but I can feel at least… seven of them."

"Whatever, let's find it out." Teddy said as he sent a message to Cooper, telling him what happened. They chased the scene and finally located it to a deserted carpark on the outskirt of the town. Before they really reached the site, they heard voices of the people, sounds of people… singing? As they got closer, the voices grew louder.

 _"…_ _You know I'm bad, I'm bad (Bad, bad, really, really bad)  
You know it, you know, ah (Bad, bad, really, really bad)_

_And the whole world has to answer right now  
Just to tell you once again who's bad?"_

"Seriously… Michael Jackson?" William groaned as they finally reached the carpark, with two groups of people standing against each other. One group was wearing casual clothes and the trio could see that there were five demigods within the group. Three of them were girls and the remaining two were boys. The trio recognized some of them. One of the Chinese boys and his two brothers spent their summer time in the camp and was an expert in archery while his brothers were expert in music and medicine respectively. They were the sons of Apollo right to the bones: Stunning features, master in music, archery and medicine, even their names have one Chinese word that referred to the sun. And then there was a large girl who was obviously a child of Ares. And was there a boy sitting in a wheelchair? Could he be a centaur?

The other group consists of all boys who wore a nice looking uniform. One of them, even with their blazer on, looked particularly emo and distant. He stood behind the group, under a shadow of a tree and observed the commotion in a silent and indifferent way. They also noticed the other two Chinese brothers were within the group, along with some other demigods. Both were looking a bit uncomfortable and tense.

One of the uniformed boys was standing high in between the two groups. He has short straight brown hair and a pair of beautiful deep sea green eyes, like the South Pacific glittering in the afternoon sun. He was holding a cup of red slush in his hand and was glaring at the other group. The other group was glaring back at him.

"Ooh…" William whistled, his large form shaking in excitement, the muscles bulked and his brown eyes were shining gleefully. "Feel all the tension, so much tension in the air! I can smell a fight is on its way!"

"This is not the time, William!" Emily snapped just as everything started to spin out of control. One of the people in the casual-wearing group must have said something wrong because the green-eyed boy's face turned angry and the slush in his hand welled up, like the fluid had somehow gained its own consciousness. Emily and Teddy stared at the liquid with disbelief.

 _"_ _How could he do that? He is not even a demigod!"_  They thought as the cold liquid dashed towards one of the members in the casual-wearing group but then a short guy with a head coated with an excessive amount of hair-gel jumped in. The red coloured liquid splashed on his face and the hobbit went down wailing. The casual wear-group started sneering and the tension increased a thousand-fold.

"Burn!" William said in excitement while clapping his hands, Emily smacked the back of his head.

They saw the two groups started to get even closer to each other. They also started yelling at each other. The green-eyed boy turned away with disdain clouding his face just as a very tall guy from the casual wear-group tried to grab him. He must have said something really provocative because the uniformed boy just spun his head, eyes with fury cold as the glaciers of the Antarctica, and punched the giant right in the jaw. With a growl, the giant launched and the two were caught in a fight. The causal-wear group were shouting,  **"Fight! Fight! Fight!"**  while the uniformed group tried to separate the two. The shirt of the green-eyed boy was torn and a blue necklace was revealed. The giant snapped it away and stomped heavily on the pendant. Immediately, the green-eyed boy paled dramatically as an intense demigod aura erupted from him, it got carried in the wind and started spreading out extensively. The trio widened their eyes, even William lost his own excitement.

"Oh Hades…" They muttered.

**TBC…?**


	2. The Untold Past of Sebastian Smythe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A glimpse to the past of Sebastian Smythe and his brother Julian. What makes the once kind and sweet Sebastian become the one most of the Warblers know. How does Cooper play a part in it and Hunter revealed Sebastian's heritage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Much of this chapter consists of Sebastian's past. I hope it doesn't look boring. Some stuff from PJO series will appear in this chapter. Basically, this is a Glee story with a backbone of "The Lightning Thief".
> 
> This story is NOT for Blaine, Klaine and Finn lovers. OOC is bound to happen. Don't like, don't read. Flames will be thrown into the Pacific Ocean.
> 
> Warning: Dark past with abuse, might be a trigger for someone.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing other than the plot and my own OCs. Emily, Julian and the relationship of Juliper belong to Cacophonylights. Carmichael belongs to my dearest friend, Eraman. Some settings in the story belong to Rick Riordan. I also DO NOT own the songs I used in this story.

Sebastian Smythe was in a whirlpool of negative emotions. Last week, he just got out from a quarrel with the Warblers just because he stated that they could do better without their former lead vocal Blaine Anderson and suggested they should try different genres of music as they were not and should not be solely restricted to A Cappella music. Immediately, some of them, like the small brown-haired Caucasian called Thad Clearwater and an African-American called David Mitchell, blew up in his face, saying that he was trying to uproot the council after the head of the council Wes Montgomery, their Asian-American leader "retired" from the place so he could focus on his study in senior year. The other Warblers were not giving him nice looks either. Sometimes, Sebastian really thought that Blaine Anderson was a hybrid between a man and a siren because most of the Warblers were literally "smitten" with Blaine Anderson like he was the light, everything he said was the truth, the law. Now he's gone and so their "light" went out. To these whining and sad faces, Sebastian just shook his head with disgust. This Blaine Anderson was really getting on his nerves, not to mention the family name that made his blood boil.

Yes, he had some grudges with the Anderson family.

You see, Sebastian was born fatherless and his mother spent most of her time drinking and roaming in the clubs, when she was back, she was often very drunk and not to mention all the random hook-ups she brought back home, no it was not a home, just a house. When she was sober, she would only look at him like he was a piece of garbage that could never be thrown away. She never asked how he was doing at school, no " _Welcome back_ " or " _Good to see you_ " or " _How was school_ " or " _Have fun today?_ " when he got back to the house. He got 100 marks in his test? No response. He became the captain of the school's swim team? No response. Got bullied at school? No response. He got in a fight? Finally, that got a response from her, except the response was " _Why didn't you just fight until you're dead? Why were you still alive?_ ".

The only upside in all these messed up craps? His elder brother Julian Smythe, the best elder brother one can imagine, even though he was Sebastian's half-brother with a 9 years age gap. He was literally the light shining through the darkness, bringing hope during despair. A smile from him and all the weight on your shoulder vanished; a hug from him and all the tears stopped flowing; a comforting word from his mouth could sooth the worst suffering. It was him who borne the responsibility to raise Sebastian; the one who kissed him goodnight; the one who gently woke him up from nightmares and read stories to him until he was asleep; the one who brought him to the doctor when he was sick and nursed him back to health. He was the one who gave him a hug, a pat on his back and murmured comforting words to his ears when he got bullied at school; the one who studied hard at school by day, taking care of him during the evening and working until the small hours; the one who accepted him unconditionally when Sebastian came out to him at 10. All the things that his mother failed to fulfil, Julian took up the responsibility.

Unfortunately, all these things just proved Sebastian's point that the kindest people suffered the most. According to their neighbours, Julian's birth father abused him and beat him very frequently, before he died from alcohol abuse. His mother… that was the part that made Sebastian hit the roof, sometimes when their mother brought their random hook-ups back to the house and these perverted shits of man set their eyes upon Julian, they did stuff that would be condemned to Tartarus, and their mother did nothing to stop them, only held up her hand, until the men handed her some money. Seeing these men dragging the initially terrorized to the later resigned Julian into the bedroom and hearing all the pained cries from him caused Sebastian to curl into a tight ball, silently sobbing, praying to anyone to help them. They couldn't find help, the foster care system was basically rubbish and no foster family would want to adopt a fatherless, 2e *****  child suffering from ADHD.

Finally, Julian could take no more and he ran away from this hell. Taking Sebastian with him, and all the money he earned, including those that went to their mother's pocket under her threats, they rented a very small flat in a poorer region and started their new living. It was still not a pleasant place to live, a severe drug abuser was never an ideal choice of a neighbour. But compared to what they had to endure in the past, it was a great improvement.

One year after they ran away, someone knocked on their door in the darkness of the night. Fearing that it might be their mother, Julian told Sebastian to go hide in his room and made no noise, no matter what. Sebastian waited anxiously beneath the small bed they slept in, vowing to punch that bitch if she touched Julian again. When Julian came back, however, his face was filled with relief. He told Sebastian that his father had sent help.

For as long as Sebastian could remember, Julian had never said anything bad about Sebastian's birth father. He always told his little brother that his father loved him, more than anything. When being asked why his father was not there during all those abuses, Julian explained to him that he had his own problems that he could not neglect and he would always watch over him. And when Sebastian asked him where his father was, Julian would tell him, " _He's lost at sea, not dead, just lost at sea._ " Julian also told him that it was his father who gave him a necklace with a blue pendant with a shape like a pearl that he had been wearing since he was five. At first, Sebastian thought it was his birthday present Julian gave him but the elder boy said it was from his birth father and according to him, the necklace had the power to "protect him from any harm".

To be honest, Sebastian didn't really believe that because if his father was really " **rich, important and powerful** " as Julian told him, why didn't he show up and help them when their mother forced Julian to have sex with a complete stranger? Why didn't he show up and help them when he got bullied? Why didn't he show up when he achieved all those honours at school? Sebastian really wanted to yell out all his frustrations, but for his brother's sake, he kept quiet. So moving back to the topic, after Julian told him that his father sent help, they were visited by a man called Bradley Carmichael who introduced himself to be the principal of an all-boys boarding school called Dalton Academy. He had enrolled Julian in the school and he would start the following week. Sebastian would come with him and Carmichael had hired a pre-high school teacher so he could study in the same place of his elder brother. Sebastian's father had covered the fees of their tuition and dormitory as well as all the daily necessities the two brothers would need, much to the brothers' shock. That night, the Smythe brothers moved to Westerville, Ohio and started their new life. Before the young Sebastian fell asleep on the comfortable seat of Carmichael's Mercedes-Benz, he overheard a tiny piece of conversation between his brother and Carmichael.

 _"_ _Would he be safe there? I mean you know…"_

 _"_ _Don't worry about it. This school and its sister school, Crawford Girls Academy, were under the protection of Lady Hecate. Those things could not get in and your brother had that necklace, he would be fine."_

Hecate? Why would someone name herself after the Titan goddess of magic? Sebastian said as he started a journey under Hypnos and Morpheus' call. When he woke up again, they were already in the school. To Sebastian's surprise, Dalton was indeed a paradise for him and his brother. The teachers, janitors and other staff were kind and attentive, the students were friendly and helpful and Principal Carmichael and Sebastian's private teacher Ms. Meg were really like a second father and mother to them.

Sebastian also noticed that Julian smiled more often, not those forced smiles he had seen for the last 8 years but a real genuine smile. He quickly made friends with his classmates, in particular a young handsome man from the rich Anderson family named Cooper, who happened to be Julian's roommate. Cooper's parents didn't really like their son communicate with Julian but they decided to be silent about it. And every Friday nights, Julian and Sebastian would go to the choir room to observe the Warblers practice. Sometimes, Sebastian would join in the song and to the group's delight, the little boy had a wonderful voice. After that, Sebastian would leave so his brother could spend some time with Cooper. He noticed how Julian looked at Cooper and vice versa, but these two idiots were just too oblivious to the affections directed to them. With some help from Sebastian, the two finally admitted that they harboured feelings towards each other and became a couple. They kept the relationship in secret as being gay was less accepted at that time. But anyway, they were all happy and that's the most important thing. And for once, Sebastian felt his prayers were being answered. He and his brother no longer needed to live in fear. They had people to look after them, care for them and they were happy. It was all going well and would have continued to be like that if the hall monitor hadn't caught them kissing in their room. That marked the beginning of bad blood between the two Smythe boys and the Andersons.

Soon after being caught kissing, the gossip mill hit overdrive and Principal Carmichael as well as the Andersons found out. While Carmichael and the staff thought it was not a big deal, the Andersons considered it was a huge scandal and they freaked out. They accused Julian of corrupting their son and dropped Cooper out of the school. They were even planning to sue Dalton for some kind of moral complaint but Principal Carmichael and his secretary Ms. King stood firm. They also listed all the reasons why the Andersons were going to lose the lawsuit. A lot of arguments were involved during that period of time but in the end, the Andersons never made a case and Sebastian could not care much. What really bothered and saddened him was his brother.

Julian was heartbroken after hearing that Cooper got shipped off to military school for his senior year. He tried to ask the Andersons about Cooper but got harassed by them with all those nasty insulting words and finally got beaten up by Mr. Anderson, causing him to spend a week in the hospital. Since then, Julian had changed, really changed. He started hanging out in the bars and hooking up people, and even though Sebastian never really saw Julian bringing people back to their room, the marks on his brother's neck and the smell of alcohol was enough prove. The Andersons really broke his brother and Sebastian thought that he had had enough, no one deserved to be treated like that and he vowed to protect his brother when he grew up and he would make the Andersons or anyone who messed with him or his brother pay. The tragic ending of Cooper and Julian's relationship also caused him to stop believing in relationship. He flirted and hooked up with people, but he never really let them into his heart.

Soon, Julian graduated and got accepted into a university in New York City. He could finally leave this hellish place but he told the others that he wanted to stay in this town because he wanted to take care of his little brother. By that time, Sebastian had already grown into a handsome 14-year-old young man and hearing that, he calmly told the others that he was studying overseas, in Paris.

Undoubtedly, everyone was shocked, especially Julian. He tried to persuade Sebastian to drop his plans but his little brother had turned them down. He didn't whine or beg or bribe with his watery deep sea-green eyes. He just said  _"No"_  in a tone that gave no rooms for any arguments. And in the end, everyone, including Julian, relented, but they all made Sebastian promise to skype them every week. Julian, on the other hand, insisted his brother to take a ship instead of an airplane. Sebastian was confused, he knew he loved the sea and had some unexplainable attraction to the sea for some unknown reasons, but that didn't mean he have to cross the Atlantic Ocean from the US to France via a ship, but for his brother's sake, he agreed. He even agreed to Julian's insistence of driving him from Westerville to Atlantic City, thinking Julian wanted to spend as much time as possible before they were an ocean apart.

* * *

Being alone in an alien country was not an easy experience, but Sebastian firmly believed that he could make it. He would prove to the others that he could be an independent man who no longer needed protection. In 2 years' time, he thrived on this European city, much to the gratitude of Julian, Carmichael and the others. Then, he learnt that the youngest son of the Andersons was studying in Dalton and was the lead singer of the Warblers. Sebastian then knew, it was time for him to come back… in this whole new form. He knew that many people would be disappointed in him, but he could never forgive what the Andersons did to his brother. And learning that this young Anderson was gay made everything easier and ironic. They broke his brother's heart, and he would break their youngest son.

Sebastian's return was sudden and caught everyone off guard. Most of the teachers and staff he knew had already retired or transferred or emigrated, Principal Carmichael and Ms. King were the only two that remained. The middle-aged man looked at the now grown-up boy with tears in his eyes and a pair of open arms. During their late night talk, Sebastian learnt about what happened to the school that he considered as home. He also learnt about how Anderson guy became the lead singer of the choir group. Carmichael also showed them some videos and Sebastian admitted that this Anderson had a good voice, but the way the hobbit was treated made him sick. Sebastian knew that a lot of the Warblers had the potential to sing as good as or even better than that Blaine Anderson, but no, they just let the hobbit get all the honours. The Warblers were more like " ** _Blaine and The Pips_** " than the fair choir group he remembered, where everyone had equal chance to lead. He also learnt that this Blaine Anderson had transferred to a public school in Lima because he "wanted to spend time with his boyfriend, a junior who was determined to go to New York". Hearing this, Sebastian just snorted, wondering if that Blaine Anderson could not stand the one hour distance between Westerville and Lima, how would he be able to stand the much longer distance between Ohio and New York? Either way, Principal Carmichael was happy to have him back and was even more delighted when Sebastian told him that he would like to study in Dalton again as this was his home and he jokingly told the principal that he could not stand the scent of public schools.

A week later, Sebastian walked into the Warblers room with his own uniform, as a new Warbler in his sophomore year. The first thing he realised was how blinded the others were to their own talent. Almost everyone believed that their only winning chance was Blaine and now he was gone. The only one who didn't seem to be enchanted by that "Blaine Anderson" was a sophomore like him: Hunter Clarington.

Hunter was Sebastian's roommate and he didn't talk that much. He had a messy short straight brown hair and a pair of deep green eyes. The students in Dalton called him "Black Iceman" because he seldom talked, and when they were allowed to wear their own casual clothes, that was after class, he liked to dress in black like a Goth. One day, Sebastian saw a familiar necklace on Hunter's neck, except it was black in colour. He decided to show Hunter his. It might be crazy, but even since that moment, Hunter became more warmed up to Sebastian and started talking more to him, only him. To the others, he was still as cold and distant as usual.

To the rest of the world, the friendship of this pair was a bizarre one because they didn't really have anything in common. Sometimes, you could see them having lunch in a darker corner of the school canteen talking, though most of the time, Sebastian was the one who talked. He told Hunter some of his past, where he had been for the past years and the bad bloods he had with the Andersons.

* * *

Being in the Warblers meant that they would have to come across with one of their rivals, New Directions, which happened to be the one that Blaine and his boyfriend were, much to Sebastian's delight. From his limited communication with other Warblers who didn't act so hostile around him like Nick, Jeff and Trent, he learnt that Blaine used to hang out in a coffee shop called  _ **The L**_ ** _ima Bean_**  and thus Sebastian planned their encounter and tried to lure him to a gay bar in West Lima. He just didn't expect Blaine's boyfriend, Kurt Hummel, to get involved, but he didn't really mind, as long as he could made the Andersons pay for what they did to his brother, he was content.

Words of their less-than-friendly encounter in the shop spread out and the cold shoulders Sebastian got increased, Nick, Jeff and Trent stopped talking to him; Wes, David and Thad always glared at him and the other Warblers looked at him in disappointment. Carmichael also heard about that, he tried to talk Sebastian out of his scheme but he knew it would be futile. When Sebastian really decided on doing something, nothing could change him his mind, just like no matter how the humans tried, the tides still came and went. As a last effort, the Principal told Sebastian not to do things that would make his brother disappoint in him.

Besides the strained relationship between Sebastian and the other Warblers, tension also existed between Sebastian and the rest of the New Directions other than Kurt, especially a Latina with cheerleading uniform called Santana Lopez and their so called leaders of New Directions, a short woman called Rachel Berry and her freaking high boyfriend, Finn Hudson. Sebastian always managed to find some ways to mess with them. He would suddenly pope up during their coffee meetings or making fun of their performance on YouTube. A few days ago, he joked about how the New Directions couldn't do Michael Jackson's songs and the rivals rebutted him by issuing a challenge, to see which of the two choir groups could sing Michael Jackson's songs better. They agreed to meet in a deserted carpark and that was the moment when Emily, Teddy and William found them.

"So, now what do you think?" Santana said in a smug tone after they finished " ** _Bad_** ". "Who can sing Michael's song better?"

Sebastian really hated that smug look, he took a sip of his slushy, trying to calm his rising anger down, but with some people who were so keen on provoking him was not helping the situation.

"Yeah, just because you're doing Michael, doesn't mean you understand Michael. The same goes to other songs." A boy on wheelchair, Artie Abrams, lectured.

"And we're gonna show you, in Regionals." A large African-American girl, Mercedes Jones, said.

"And for your information, we're not doing Michael for Regionals." Kurt Hummel said. "But don't you think that we're surrendering. We're just tired of the fighting and backstabbing."

Kurt should really stop there, anyone who wasn't blind could see that Sebastian was quickly losing his temper but no, lady Hummel just kept on irritating him.

"So now, you can kindly retreat to your place with your hook-ups and fucked them or let them fuck you, you big slutty whore." Kurt finished with this nasty smug grin on his face and Sebastian finally snapped. He tried to stay cool, but his anger got the upper hand and his mind went blank. The sound of a storm surge raged in his ear. When his consciousness finally cleared out, he saw that Blaine was down on the ground wailing and rubbing his eyes, his face tainted red with the slushy he had. Looking down at his now empty cup, he tried to remember what happened in those seconds because he didn't remember doing anything, he didn't even swing his hand at anyone.

Almost instantly, the New Directions snapped out of their shock and started screaming and sneering.

"Blaine!"

"How dare you?!"

"Fuck you! You asshole bully, you will pay for this!"

"You will be sorry for hurting him!"

"Guys! Calm down!" Kurt shouted as he signalled Santana to get something.

"We should call the cops, or your headmaster. And get you expelled or even arrested for assaulting Blaine with that slushie." The Latina said as she retrieved a camera they installed in secret, probably for recording the competition. She then handed it to Kurt who checked the tape.

"Hmm... We could totally do that, but you know what? It just wouldn't be as much fun and jolly winning Regionals without you're there to suffer through the agony of being defeated." Kurt said. "So we would generously let you go free for once."

"Besides, the other Warblers now know exactly what kind of guy you are." Santana said smugly as the said choir group looked at Sebastian with disgust and disappointment. Sebastian, on the other hand, didn't look too afraid, he didn't even flinch.

"If you wish to continue threaten me with all these empty things, go ahead, do I look like I give a fuck, bitch?" Sebastian said in disdain as he turned away, but someone was not making things any easier.

"Alright, you fucker!" Finn snarled and tried to grab Sebastian's collar. "I will teach you a lesson so you're gonna run back to your whore of a mother."

The crowd gasped, even Rachel and Santana were shocked. As much as they didn't like the meerkat boy, it was, in any sense, NOT right to insult someone's family. Sebastian himself didn't make fun of Finn's dad or Kurt's mom even he considered the two as enemies. Hearing what Finn said, Sebastian spun his head towards the giant, eyes cold in fury and without hesitation, he punched Finn in the jaw hard. With an animalistic growl, Finn lunged and pinned Sebastian onto the ground and the two started fighting. The reaction of the two groups were different, many of the New Directions were shouting " **Fight! Fight! Fight!** ", " **Yeah! Get him!** " and " **Teach this fucker a lesson!** ", while the Warblers were trying to separate the two. The guys thought Finn would have gotten the upper hand as he had a larger size and was in the football team but they were wrong. Sebastian soon flipped them over and punched the giant in the nose. With a growl, Finn grabbed harshly on Sebastian's shirt, breaking the buttons and Sebastian's blue necklace swung out. Hunter, who was standing in the back stiffened as Finn grabbed onto it and yanked harshly. The chain broke and the pendant fell to the ground and was smashed as Finn stomped on it. Sebastian's face paled dramatically but quickly turned red with fury as the sky turned dark. He moved his gaze from the broken necklace to the smug-looking Finn. He was really going to tear the dumbass giant into pieces but a pair of strong arms stopped him. He turned around and saw Hunter was the one holding him.

"Get your boyfriend under control." Finn said as he rubbed his blood-smeared face. "You prep school bas-"

His sentence stopped abruptly as Hunter turned to glare at him and a shiver ran down his spine. The rest of the group also had similar frightening feeling, like all of a sudden Hunter was someone that came out from their worst nightmares. Turning his gaze to the shaken Sebastian, he quietly spoke.

"Wait here, I'll collect the shards." Hunter said in a serious tone and gathered the broken necklace and pendant on the ground with a piece of black cloth. When he finished this, he handed the cloth to Sebastian who held it dearly. Looking around, he saw the still shaken group of people, some of them like Santana, Nick, Jeff and the Warbler Council were particularly startled.

"Get him under control? Maybe you should learn when to keep your mouth shut, you guys all lack this basic self-control." Hunter said as he yanked the motionless Sebastian away.

"Wait! Where're you going?" One of the Warblers, Jon, cried.

"Back!"

"But where?"

"None of your business!" Hunter snapped as they disappeared around a corner.

From their hidden corner, Emily, Teddy and William stared with wide eyes as the simple fact dawned on them: This is the demigod they needed to find, but the plan would need some amendments because such a powerful aura would definitely attract monsters.

"Oh dear, this is not good." Teddy muttered as they hurriedly informed Cooper about what happened. A few minutes later, they got a reply, telling them to meet up in Dalton.

* * *

After Cooper dropped his friends off, he began his journey to Dalton, as the familiar building appeared in front of his eyes, his hidden memories started to resurface. Parking his car at the road side, he slowly approached the main door of the campus. He gently pushed away a small bush and saw a mini version of Hecate's torch.

"Thank you, Lady Hecate… for protecting us." He whispered and stepped into the school ground that he hadn't stepped on for a long time. It was after school hour and most of the students were relaxing in the canteen or in the school lawn so the corridors were relatively empty. Everything seemed unchanged, the designs on the walls, ceiling and floor were still the same as he last remembered; the scenery outside the windows looked more or less the same, except the trees grew taller and thicker, even the chairs and tables along the corridor were in the same place he remembered. Following his memory, Cooper finally reached a door that burnt into his memory. It was quiet and he gently opened the door. The room was still as big as he remembered, looking up and he saw a banner with a giant warbler hanging on the wall. In general, it looked similar to Cooper before he left, though there were more couches, chairs and tables. There was also a new bookcase near a whiteboard hanging on the wall with huge words writing:

 _Warblers Timetable  
_ _Tuesday: Additional practice (4:30pm-5:30pm)  
_ **_Wednesday: Meeting/Additional practice (4pm-5pm)  
_ ** _Friday: Practice (4pm-6pm)_

" _So they had scheduled two more additional practice sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday._ " Cooper thought as he checked his watch. It was 4:30 pm, Friday.

" _Strange. They should be here practicing. Where are they?_ " He thought as his phone buzzed, signalling a message. He opened it and it was from Teddy. It read:

 _Have been going around the town._  
_No monsters._  
_Found a few nymphs._  
_Just sensed some demigod's auras and located them.  
_ _Apparently there're at least 5 of them._

He replied with a " _Got it_ " and put his phone back to his pocket. His eyes then set on the piano in the corner. Ah, he remembered how many times he had played on it. Closing the door behind him, Cooper sat down and prepared himself for the right mood by playing some scales. As soon as he was ready, he played the song that made him suited his current feel.

 **Another summer day**  
**Has come and gone away**  
**In Paris and Rome**  
**But I wanna go home  
** **Mm…**

 **Maybe surrounded by**  
**A million people I**  
**Still feel all alone  
** **I just wanna go home**

**Oh I miss you, you know**

**And I've been keeping all the letters that I wrote to you**  
**Each one a line or two  
** **"** **I'm fine baby, how are you?"**

 **Well, I would send them but I know that it's just not enough**  
**My words were cold and flat  
** **And you deserve more than that**

 **Another aeroplane**  
**Another sunny place**  
**I'm lucky I know**  
**But I wanna go home  
** **Mm, I've got to go home**

 **Let me go home**  
**I'm just too far from where you are  
** **I wanna come home**

 **And I feel just like I'm living someone else's life**  
**It's like I just stepped outside  
** **When everything was going right**

 **And I know just why you could not come along with me**  
**That this is not your dream  
** **But you always believed in me**

 **Another winter day has come**  
**And gone away**  
**In even Paris and Rome**  
**And I wanna go home  
** **Let me go home**

 **And I'm surrounded by**  
**A million people I-**  
**I still feel alone**  
**Oh, let me go home  
** **Oh, I miss you, you know**

 **Let me go home**  
**I've had my run**  
**Baby, I'm done  
** **I gotta go home**

 **Let me go home**  
**It'll all be all right**  
**I'll be home tonight  
** **I'm coming back home**

When the song ended, a gentle clapping from the door made him spin his head to see who it was and standing by the now opened door; still gently clapping; with the similar clothing style; with the same warm smile and eyes, were Principal Carmichael.

"Principal Carmichael?" Cooper asked in surprise and delight.

"Cooper, my dear boy." The middle-aged man smiled as the young man ran to hug him.

"Let me have a better look at you." The principal said after they broke the hug. "Oh gods, you have grown up so much… Left as a young lad and back as a man… Alas, that shocked me to think how old I am."

"Principal…" Cooper said with a teary smile. "I miss you… I miss everyone… How are they?"

"They all left, either retired or transferred or emigrated. I am the only one who still remained. But don't worry child, they would all be so happy and proud of you." Carmichael said in a comforting tone. "Come, let's take a sit."

The two sat down and they started talking, talking about how everyone's lives had changed all those years, complaining problems and gossiping.

"-Really? I have never realised that." Cooper said before remembering something. "Speaking of which, where're the Warblers? I thought they have a practice now."

"I'm not sure, but Sebastian told me that they have some challenges they have to fulfil." The principal said and Cooper stiffened.

"Sebastian… Is this Sebastian the brother of…" He couldn't say the name without all the guilt and pains welling up. For all these years, Julian Smythe was still a sore topic for him. Carmichael must have known this because he changed the subject.

"Well let's talk about something else. So what makes you come back?" Carmichael asked gently and Cooper sighed.

"We're on a mission." He explained. "Apparently there would be a very strong demigod arise in Lima and Chiron sent me and three of my friends here to take him to the camp. We also got the fact that he resides in a haven under Hecate's blessing which is obviously this school. I'm checking this place and refresh my memories at the same time while my friends were doing their searching in Lima."

Just then, Ms. King knocked on the door. She looked shocked and happy to see Cooper there because her lips just pulled into a warm smile but it quickly dissolved into a serious and worried look.

"Principal, there's something in your office and I think you need to come to see it." She informed.

"Well, I think we can meet up later. It's good to see you, Cooper." Carmichael said as he stood up.

"Yeah, I'm happy to see you too, Cooper." Ms. King said with a smile.

"You too, Ms. King."

"No need for the formalities, call me Liza." She said as she left with the principal. Cooper was now alone again, turning around and he saw a pile of yearbooks stacking on the old bookcase. He took the one that marked his sophomore year and turned the pages. He flipped and flipped until he found the page: a class photo that he was in during that time. He found himself without difficulty and the young man who was standing next to the young, smiley Cooper, with the same mischievous but sincere smile, was the one that lingered in his mind for all these years.

"Julian…" Cooper whispered, gently touching the face of the frozen people. "I hope that you're alright. I miss you…"

Suddenly, an intense demigod aura hit Cooper, making him drop the book. Looking around, he tried to locate the source when his mobile phone buzzed. A new message arrived and it read:

 _Found the demigod, aura extremely intense.  
_ _Bad news: We lost his track._

"So that strong demigod aura was from our target…" Cooper muttered and gave them a reply.

 _I suspect the target have returned to Dalton_  
_We should meet there  
_ _Will send you the address_

Shoving the phone back to his pocket, he made his way to the principal's office, which was the place the intense aura generated. When he opened the door, he saw Principal Carmichael standing by the window near his office table and was talking on the phone with someone; Liza was gently patting the back of a brown-haired young man who was sobbing at a piece of cloth; there was another brown-haired boy sitting at the corner talking on a phone as well, though he looked extremely exhausted.

"Okay. Give me a call when you arrived, bye." The Principal ended the call and turned to sit next to the crying boy.

"It's gonna be okay, your brother is coming." Carmichael soothed. "He'll be here in 2 hours' time. You need anything?"

The brown-haired boy shook his head and looked up, but as soon as his deep sea-green eyes reached Cooper, he froze and started sneering but Liza and Carmichael grabbed onto him.

"What is he doing here?!" He snarled, pointing an accusing finger at Cooper, his green eyes flaring in anger.

"Sebastian, calm down. Cooper is on a mission. He-" Liza explained but was cut off by a sardonic laugh from the boy.

"Oh mission, what mission? Have you done not enough harm to my brother so you decide to stomp on him even more? Or you-"

"Sebastian!" Carmichael scolded. "Behave yourself!"

It was a rare scene as the Principal never raised his voice. He preferred to talk calmly instead of shouting and starting some pointless arguments. Cooper once joked that the soul living in Carmichael was actually an incarnation of Gandalf the Grey.

"Fine…" The Smythe boy grumbled, never taking his glaring gaze from Cooper.

"So can you tell me what happened?" Carmichael said in a stern tone. "You told me that you and the Warblers were going on for a challenge. What challenge were you guys having? Wrestling? Or is it street-fighting? Because I don't remember a singing challenge would result in this."

He opened the pile of cloth to reveal the remains of a blue necklace. Sebastian sighed and began his explanation.

"I stated that the New Directions, that is our rival, could not sing Michael Jackson's songs and they issued a challenge to me and the Warblers. It was today and we went to a deserted carpark to see which group could sing Michael Jackson's songs better. I also brought a cup of slushie with me. Because I knew I would need some cold drink to stay cool in case someone irritated me. But still I underestimated them. I tried to keep my anger at bay but when this Kurt Hummel called me a slut with this annoying smug look like he's better than anyone else, I just couldn't take anymore. And before you begin barking, I don't know how that slushie hit Blaine, I didn't even swing my hand. I just felt my mind go blank and the next second I know, he was down like boom! With the slushie on his face." Sebastian finished with a clap on his hand.

"What?!" Cooper exclaimed and Carmichael believed that he needed to have a serious talk with Sebastian after that.

"A slushie? But wouldn't it melt by the time you reached there?"

"I know. That's why I add some rock salt-"

"What?! Rock salt?!" Cooper exclaimed again.

"Yes, rock salt or sodium chloride, if you want me to put it that way." Sebastian snapped. "I add some rock salt to the drink to prevent it from melting so quickly."

"But that didn't explain why your necklace was broken." Liza said. "From what you've been telling us, you just lost your temper and splashed that cup of slushie on Blaine."

"That happened after little Blainey performed that stunt." Sebastian said with a clear disdain. Cooper didn't like this new Sebastian. The Sebastian he once knew was so sweet and so kind and this one sitting in front of him was the exact opposite. But still, he couldn't help himself to feel sorry for the younger male. He knew he was also partially responsible to the birth of this Sebastian.

"He was wailing on the ground and his little minions started snarling like some beasts and were throwing all kinds of threats to me, ranging from making me pay by fists to calling you to get me expelled. Well, if they hadn't pissed me off in the first hand none of that would happen and their precious hobbit would still be fine. Anyway, I was going to leave but this dumb giant grabbed onto me and spit out all the insults that his tiny brain could remember. Normally I would just laugh it off but then he said and I quote ' _gonna run back to your whore of a mother_.', that's the part when I could hold no longer."

"I thought you said you didn't like your mother." Hunter whispered.

"I did not!" Sebastian snapped. "But the fact is if he said my mother is a whore, then he is also insulting my brother because she gave birth to him, even she failed on an epic scale to be a parent. And mess with my brother, you're messing with me."

"Hunter, what did you know and see about this?" Carmichael asked.

"All Sebastian said just now was true, he didn't throw the slushie at little Anderson, the liquid welled up from the cup like it obtained its own consciousness. It was originally heading towards the torso of this Kurt Hummel, I assume that Sebastian didn't really want to splash those liquid onto his face, right?" Hunter asked and earned a nod from Sebastian. "But then little Anderson decided to jump in and got hit instead. And everything went downhill after that."

"Ok. I think we should deal with this later." Cooper said. "Speaking of which, do you smell any monsters nearby?"

"Excuse me?" Hunter asked in disbelief when he realised that Cooper was asking him. Meanwhile, Liza and Carmichael were looking torn between looking horrified or bursting out laughing.

"Do you smell any monster nearby after the necklace broke?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, mister. How exactly do you expect me to ' ** _smell_** ' monsters? I'm not a satyr, whether it is literally meaning or physically meaning." Hunter said sarcastically.

"So you're not a satyr, are you a clear-sighted mortal?" Cooper asked again and Hunter rolled his eyes.

"If I'm a clear-sighted mortal, how can we be back here so fast? The scenario we just told you happened less than 30 minutes ago." Hunter asked, raising his eyebrow and Cooper's eyes widened.

"You… You're a demigod too?" Cooper asked, but it sounded like a statement instead.

"Indeed, but no, I'm not telling you more than this." Hunter said quietly. "Some things are not meant to reveal at certain time. When everything is right, they would disclose themselves. An untimely reveal could lead to destruction of all."

"Wait! Wait!" A voice rang in the room, reminding the occupants that there was one more person. "What is this? Are you guys keeping something from me? How did the slushie well up all by itself?"

"You're the one who controlled it." Hunter informed. "When you finally lost your temper, you made the fluid to fly out of the container. Yeah, I know you're gonna think I'm crazy, but it's the truth. Remember all the times you told me about your father? When you thought that your birth father was really dead, I always said otherwise."

"Yeah, but what does it have to do with this?" Sebastian asked in confusion.

"Because Sebastian, your father is not any man, he is not dead and won't be dead because he is not a mortal."

"And just who is he? An angel?"

"Nope, nope, nope. He is much more powerful than that." Hunter paused.

"He is one of the Olympian Gods."

**TBC…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I am too harsh to Julian, don't you think so? Poor him and poor Sebastian. Also, damn you New Directions you just didn't know when to stop and fuck you, Finn Hudson. And from the next chapter onward, there would be more things coming from Percy Jackson series.
> 
> *2e is the abbreviation of Twice Exceptional, which refers to students that are both intellectually gifted and diagnosed with disabilities, the more common ones included ADHD, dyslexia, autism and Asperger's syndrome.
> 
> Songs/Background music used:
> 
> Home – Damian McGinty  
> -From "Glee"
> 
> Reviews are loved.


	3. The Bird & The Bull

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is NOT for Blaine, Klaine and Finn lovers. OOC is bound to happen. Don't like, don't read. Flames will be thrown into the Pacific Ocean.
> 
> Warning: Violence and bloodshed.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing other than the plot and my own OCs. Emily, Julian and the relationship of Juliper belong to Cacophonylights. Carmichael belongs to my dearest friend, Eraman. Some settings in the story belong to Rick Riordan. I also DO NOT own the songs I used in this story.

_"_ _Nope, nope, nope. He is much more powerful than that." Hunter paused._

 _"_ _He is one of the Olympian Gods."_

A moment later, Sebastian let out a laugh.

"The Olympian Gods? As in a God? Don't be silly, I know those are the bedtime stories that my brother told me when I was young. But-"

"But then please explain how we managed to get back to Dalton from Lima, which takes an hour of driving, within seconds?" Hunter asked.

"Something supernatural?"

"Gods are supernatural too."

"But none of these should be real!"

"This is the most plausible answer because there are no better explanations." Hunter countered.

"But-"

"You can keep on denying it, but that won't change the fact that they are real."

Sebastian tried to think of any argument but couldn't come up with one. Finally, he relented.

"The Greek Gods… They really exist… don't they?" He asked quietly.

"Yes."

"What about the other things in Greek Mythology? The places and people…"

"They exist too, but they may not look like what you've been seeing or hearing." Hunter said.

"And what is this term **_'clear-sighted mortal'_**?" He asked.

"They are those who can see through the Mist, a veil-like barrier which prevents the mortals from seeing our world. But some of them had this unique ability to see through it." Carmichael explained. "Liza and I are clear-sighted mortals. Your brother is one too."

"My brother?" Sebastian asked.

"Yes, you have probably wondered why he is so worried about you. That's because he knows what dangers are lurking in the dark. Monsters ignore clear-sighted mortals like him, but you are the one they love to target on. That's why he had been so desperate to protect you: you're literally a walking attraction for monsters. If it wasn't your necklace, they would have come to you long ago."

Sebastian was quiet all the time.

"You think my brother have met my birth father?" He asked quietly.

"I think he does." Carmichael said. "Some clear-sighted mortals who had met the Gods and if they're lucky, the Gods would bless them. And from our observation, your father does bless your brother."

"And do the Gods bless you too?" Sebastian asked, looking at the Principal and Liza.

"Yes, we are."

"Who?"

"Your father." Carmichael said simply.

"But we can't tell you who he is, at least not now." Liza piped up. "Everything will be sorted out when you went to Camp Epineio."

"Epineio?" Sebastian asked. "That doesn't sound like English."

"It isn't. It is the direct translation from Greek ' ** _επίνειο_** ', which means Haven." Liza explained. _**(**_ _ **A.N.: Google translate, pardon me if I get it wrong.)**_

"And where is this camp?"

"New York City. It is located on a deserted shore, facing the Atlantic." Carmichael said.

"And why doesn't he come to help me or at least help my brother?" Sebastian asked with gritted teeth. He didn't want to be angry with his father, but if he is really a God, then why didn't he come to help them? With a swipe of his hand, he and his brother could have a better life and Julian didn't need to endure those pains.

"Seb, you have to know this." Carmichael said gently. "First of all, the Gods are busy because they have an entire world to look after, not to mention they have to keep an eye on their enemies, including the potential ones. Second, there are some ancient laws that even the Gods have to follow. One of them is not to get over-involved with the lives of mortals. It would be dangerous, for both the God and the mortal."

Sebastian said nothing, his eyes kept gazing the floor when his head suddenly lifted and looked at Cooper in the eyes.

"You're a demigod?" He asked but it sounded like a statement.

"Yes." The older male answered.

"So does that mean…"

"No, Blaine and I are just half-brothers." Cooper said. "Just like you and Julian."

"No!" Sebastian suddenly snapped. "Don't say his name. You don't deserve that."

"Sebastian!" This time, it was Liza who raised her voice. "Mind your tone."

"Blaine and I have the same father."

"And who would be your mother?" Sebastian said harshly. "Algos or Oizys *****?"

"Sebastian!" Carmichael warned.

"No, Aphrodite." Cooper Anderson said calmly. Just then, Cooper's phone buzzed and he checked it.

"My friends are here. I'm getting them." Cooper said as he left the office. Carmichael and Liza glared at Sebastian disapprovingly.

"Sebastian, that's not very nice of you." Liza scolded. "I understand how you feel about the end of Cooper and your brother's relationship but there's no need to be such a jerk face to him. Cooper has absolutely no say to what happened after their relationship was discovered. It was his parents who acted like jerks."

"Besides, Cooper is still being guilt-eaten for what happened to Julian." Carmichael said and Sebastian said nothing. He just glared at the floor as tears started to well up. Someone knocked on the door and four people, including Cooper, came in. Two of them were guys who had short straight dirty blonde hair. One of them had brown eyes and the other had light blue eyes. Their body shape were so well defined that they were literally two walking Adonis. The difference between the two is the blue-eyed guy looked slightly drunk while the brown-eyed guy had this look that made people want to fight him. There was also a woman with nice long blonde hair and a pair of beautiful bluish grey eyes that was sparkling with wisdom.

"Principal Carmichael, Ms. King, Sebastian." Cooper introduced. "These three are my friends and companions on this mission. This is Emily Santia, the daughter of Athena."

Emily nodded with a smile as Cooper turned his attention to the guy with this drunken look.

"This is Theodore Muscato. You can call him Teddy, and from his look, I think you should know who his godly parent is: Dionysus."

Teddy waved and looked like he was going to burp but a glare from Emily, Cooper and the remaining guy stopped him.

"And this is William Curry. He is a son of Ares. You won't want to piss him off." Cooper said as William's upper lip pulled into a smirk.

"Oh, and by the way, don't call him things like Billy or Will or Willy unless you have a death wish." Cooper said with a smirk as William growled.

"I **will** kill you, fucker." He scowled.

"William!" Emily scolded as Cooper shook his head slightly.

"Guys, this is Principal Carmichael and his secretary Ms. Liza King. And this is Sebastian Smythe, the demigod that we've been seeking." He introduced and the trio stared at Sebastian.

"How did you get back so fast?" William asked in astonishment.

"Ask him." Sebastian grumbled, nodding at Hunter.

"Who are you?"

"Hunter Clarington, demigod."

"You're one too? But I can't feel your aura." Teddy said.

"Yes I am." Hunter said. "As for how I manage to hide my aura, I think you already have the answer."

"What do you mean-"

"It's a necklace, isn't it?" Emily asked. "Like the one that Sebastian has."

"Well done, you are really Athena's child." Hunter said as he clapped his hands.

"Why do I feel that I'm being teased with your compliment?"

"Who knows?" Hunter shrugged as someone banged on the door frantically.

"I think it should be your brother." Carmichael said as he approached the door. Sebastian suddenly jumped up and cried, " **NO!** "

* * *

It was too late, Carmichael had already opened the door and a young adult, roughly the same age as Cooper and his group burst into the room with a panicked and worried look, his bluish-green eyes were flooded with fear and worry.

"Principal Carmichael, what happened to Sebby? Is he-" Julian Smythe's question was cut short as he noticed the people in the room and inevitably, Cooper Anderson. His form stiffened and got hold to the door, like he was trying to not collapse in front of all the people. His face was a mixture of disbelief, shock, loss, pain and hurt. It's like beneath this stunning body lay a completely broken soul. Emily, Teddy and William looked between the two, realizing that this was the person that Cooper loved, but they couldn't stop thinking what happened between the two which led to this scenario.

"Cooper?" Julian croaked after several minutes of uncomfortable silence. Immediately, Sebastian jumped up and stood in between the two men, trying to shield his brother from seeing the one that broke his heart and scarred his soul.

"Julian?" Cooper's voice was soft like a whisper and raw like he's choking on his hope. Julian Smythe was standing in front of him, still looking the same, but he knew that this was not the Julian he knew when they were dating.

"You're here..." Cooper asked softly, Julian took a deep breath.

"Of course I'm here." Julian said coldly. "Principal Carmichael told me that someone broke Sebby's necklace outside Dalton. Of course I have to come back and check on him."

"That's all for that?" Cooper asked, hoping that he would hear Julian said he also wanted to see him.

"Yes. That's all." Julian replied coldly but everyone in the room noticed the shaking of his hands. Turning his gaze from Cooper to Sebastian, Julian's eyes softened dramatically.

"Seb? You okay?" He asked and that was all it needed. Sebastian started crying and he lunged himself into his brother's arms. Julian was the one that could make him feel better just by a single sentence or a concerning look.

"Jules! Those people are so mean! They never listen to me, just kept on antagonizing me!" Sebastian sobbed as Julian patted on his back gently, just like how he did when little Sebby was woken up by either a thunderstorm or some nightmares.

"Shh… It's okay now, Seb. I'm here. I will protect you till the end." He soothed as Liza gently led Cooper and his friends out of the room, telling them that they would have a meeting in the conference room.

"Hunter, go back to your room please?" Carmichael asked but Sebastian suddenly piped up.

"No, I want him to stay too." Sebastian's muffled voice came from his brother's chest. Hunter looked at Carmichael who nodded. They then left the two brothers alone in their own moments until Julian decided to ask the question.

"Okay, tell me what happen?"

Sebastian then began his explanation from how everything began and how his necklace got smashed by some idiot with a disproportional size between a body and brain as Julian listened and observed the shards that were once Sebastian's necklace.

"Brother…" Sebastian whispered and Julian turned to look at him.

"Am I really like what they called me?" Sebastian sounded so broken. "They always called me a disappointment, a loser, tyrant… Am I really like that?"

Julian knelt in front of his little brother.

"Tell me, do you think like that?" He asked gently, looking into his brother's deep sea-green eyes. "Do you really think so?"

"No… except some of them…" Sebastian whispered. "I'm not a loser… I'm not a tyrant either… I'm just suggesting something new that the Warblers can do, I have never wanted to rule them with an iron fist and never will be!"

"Good." Julian said with an appraising nod. "Keep remembering that. Because you are who you are and no one can change that."

"But Jules… Am I really a disappointment to you? I have done those things." Sebastian whispered.

"Tell me why you did those things before we decided that." Julian said. "That's the most important thing. Tell me why you have to be so hostile to Blaine?"

"I can't forgive the Andersons for what they did to you." Sebastian said. "You're the only relative that cared for me. They hurt you and I'm going to make them pay."

Julian hummed in understanding.

"I appreciate how you care for me. But Sebastian, it is not okay to vent your anger and frustration to other innocents. Isaac and Loretta are responsible for this but not Blaine, not Cooper. And remember this: We are much better than those jerks outside. Don't lower yourself to the same level as them. You ask me if I'm disappointed. Yes, I am. I'm disappointed of how you cope with the situation but I'm not disappointed of you."

"So you're not mad at me?" Sebastian asked with a teary smile.

"No, I'm not mad, but promise me one thing, Sebby. Promise me not to do things like that again, okay?" Julian asked seriously as the brothers looked at each other in the eyes.

"I promise." Sebastian said with a pair of puppy eyes. Julian chuckled and kissed his brother's cheek.

"So what's going to happen to me?" Sebastian asked.

"You hear what they say. They're taking you to the camp in New York. It's a camp specialized for people like you. They will train you so you can deal with the monsters better in the future."

"But can't they just train me here?"

"They can't." Julian said quietly. "And you should start training at a much earlier age. Your birth father had come to me and told me to send you to the camp on your sixth birthday but I turned him down. It's just… I'm being selfish."

Selfish? Sebastian could never link up his brother with that adjective.

"I couldn't talk or think about it… because sending you to that camp might mean saying goodbye to you for good." Julian said with a distraught tone. "Leaving you with a bunch of strangers, with no one to look after you and care for you… I just can't bear that. Your father understood my concern and gave me that necklace as an alternative. The power that protected would expire on your eighteenth birthday but now it was broken much earlier than anyone of us had expected."

"So you're sending me away? Like now?" Sebastian sounded broken.

"No, Seb." Julian reassured. "You know that camp is in New York, right? I have yet told you, that I have just transferred my work to New York."

"You are?" Sebastian asked like Christmas has come early, his green eyes sparkling with hope.

"Yes, so in a way, I'm closer to you." Julian said with a smile.

"Can you live with me? In that camp?" Sebastian asked but Julian shook his head.

"No, Seb. Mortals like I cannot cross the property line. If you want to see me, just call me, and I will come and get you, okay?"

"But…" Sebastian whined. If the rest of the Warblers and New Directions were here, they would be shocked to see this Sebastian.

"Sebby, you're a grown man now. You have to be independent. Promise me this, okay?" Julian lectured patiently. Finally, Sebastian sighed.

"I promise." He said as he leant into his brother's chest. "When will I go to this camp Epineio?"

"I'm afraid it will be soon." Emily said as the group got into the room, Cooper was not with them, much to Sebastian's relief. "Your demigod aura is so strong that all the monsters in Lima sensed it. On our way to Dalton we finished a dozen of them. We also spot a few of them pacing around the campus."

Carmichael and Liza went to the window and confirmed the group's observation.

"I think we need a new plan to get Sebastian out. We can finish a dozen more monsters but they would keep coming. I suspect his aura have even attracted the monsters from Columbus."

"Then we should start it now." Carmichael said as he took charge of the situation. "Liza, get the conference room ready. Cooper, Emily, Teddy and William, get to the room."

Sebastian and Julian looked at each other.

"Jules. Before we go, can we play by that swing again? The one then we have been playing before you graduated?"

"Why not?" The elder Smythe replied with a smile. "But first, I'll need to collect your things. Now, I know that you can finish that job on your own, but just let me be a big brother one more time before you headed for the camp, okay?"

"Okay…"

"Good, so…" Julian turned his gaze to Hunter, the only one who was still in the room.

"Hunter Clarington, I'm a demigod too." Hunter introduced himself with a smile which was extremely rare.

"Okay, Hunter. Can you help me look after my little brother while I go get his things?"

"Sure, I'll give you the key. We're roommates anyway." Hunter said as he handed Julian the key to their room.

"See you there." Julian kissed Sebastian's cheek before he left. When Hunter and Sebastian were alone, Hunter's lips pulled up into a smirk as Sebastian's cheek reddened.

"Don't tease me for that." Sebastian warned.

"Don't worry about that." Hunter said with a smirk. "I just didn't know that you can be such a big softy."

Sebastian groaned as the two went for the school lawn.

* * *

Dalton's lawn was large, beautiful and well kept. That's understandable because the academy had better funding. It was located on the west of the school ground, outside the main school site and was only included into the campus when Dalton expanded in the 1950s. Its western edge was directly facing a row of houses and shops with only a pedestrian in between so in order to protect the privacy of both sides, Dalton planted a row of trees and bamboos to separate the two sides. They also set up several swing sets so the students could relax between school-time but not many people knew this place since it was not located near the teaching buildings or the dormitories. Sebastian and Julian discovered this undisturbed paradise soon after they arrived Dalton and they spent almost every afternoon sitting on the swing, chatting or listening to the birds and enjoying the evening sun. After Julian graduated and Sebastian went studying overseas, no one in the campus, except Carmichael, Liza and several staff knew about this tiny meddle. One day, a storm uprooted one of the trees so now the public could peep into Dalton via this tiny gap, which was sitting opposite an old-fashioned grocery shop.

Sebastian occupied the swing set that he and his brother used to sit on. Hunter was sitting on the ground under the shadow of a maple tree, reading a book. It was quiet and the atmosphere was serene, the cool evening breeze blew across the land, the birds were singing and butterflies were dancing with dragonflies. That was until Sebastian looked up and saw the old grocery shop.

Three women were sitting in rocking chairs under a grey shelter. They looked like they were in the late sixties, from the wrinkles on their faces and their long grey hair, but their eyes revealed that they were much older than that. What captured Sebastian's attention most was the three women were all processing one single scarf. And that scarf was probably the longest scarf he had ever seen. Who needed to wear a scarf that was at least 6 metres long? But anyway, the woman on the left was knitting what Sebastian suspected the main body of the scarf with the whitest silk thread Sebastian had ever seen, it was even whiter than the newly fallen snow and the cloth that the women were wearing. The one in the middle was measuring the yarn with a rod and processing it by adding threads of different colours and modifying the roughness of the scarf. Right now, it was a nice shade of orange and was relatively smooth when compared to what was laying in the huge basket, sitting on the lap of the remaining old woman. She was looking into the basket like a quality controller. The orange yarn was now lying on top of a pile of black, grey, deep red scarf with extremely rough texture. What made the situation even weirder was they seemed to be looking right at him. Their gaze seemed to have this penetrating power that they could look right into his soul. It made Sebastian start shivering and a sore throat like he was suffering from a mild case of flu.

As more and more of the orange scarf got into the basket of the old lady sitting on the right, she nodded and took out a pair of scissors, long-bladed, shivering in the afternoon sun. She opened the scissors, placed the scarf in its opening arms, and cut it, with this indifferent look, but the scarf was not entirely snapped in two, one tiny silk thread was still hanging on, linking the two parts of the scarf. As the three old women balled up the scarf and retreated into the shop, Sebastian spoke.

"I wonder who will wear that scarf?"

"What?" Hunter asked as he looked up from his book.

"That scarf. I suspected it was more than 6 metres long, weaved by those three ladies." Sebastian joked, completely missing Hunter's sharp intake of breath as he jumped up.

"Dude, tell me they're not looking at you!" He said sharply.

"What… what?" Sebastian was caught off guard by Hunter's sudden advance.

"Oh gods, they are, aren't they? What did you see?"

"Is that really a big of deal?"

"Of course! Tell me now!"

"I saw one of them was weaving, one was processing and one cut it." Sebastian replied with a confused expression. Hunter just cursed.

"Shit… this is not good…" He hissed.

"Wait! What happened? What's wrong with them? They're not-"

Sebastian's sentence was cut off in the middle as he started to realize why it was a big deal.

"They're from the Greek myths, right?" He asked quietly. "They're… they're…"

"Moirai… Yes, they are the Three Moirai, or we know them better as the Fates." Hunter finished for him just as Julian came to meet them.

"Hey guys, uhm… what happened?" He asked and Sebastian looked at Hunter with a pleading look, " _Please don't tell him!_ "

"Nothing…" Hunter lied reluctantly. "Just talking of how incompetent New Directions are."

Julian didn't seem convinced but he decided to drop the matter. He sat down beside Sebastian and let his little brother lean on his shoulder and hugged him with both of his arms, just like how they did when they were younger.

"Do you think that we can do more things like this after I went to that camp?" Sebastian asked quietly as they gently swung back and forth.

"Why not? All you need to do is ask." Julian said with a smile, which his little brother returned.

They sat on the swing as the sun continued to set. Hunter left for the washroom and when he returned, he told them that the Warblers had come back and the New Directions were with them too. Sebastian just snorted as Julian held him tighter. They just wanted to enjoy the quietness…

Except it was too quiet, didn't know when, the wind stopped, the birds and the insects no longer sang. And Sebastian found himself more and more hyperactive, Hunter was the same too. He seemed to be more restless, like some ants had got into his shirt.

"What's wrong?" Julian asked in concern.

"I felt uneasy… like someone was peeping…"

"Should we-"

Julian could never finish what he wanted to say because suddenly, someone, or something shot over the wall of trees and landed in front of them. Instinctively, Julian stood in between the creature and Sebastian, trying to shield him.

"Seb…" Julian whispered as the creature rose to its full height, a woman was looking at the trio with murderous eyes, except she wasn't entirely human. She has a head of a human, that's all it had. From the neck downward, her body changed from human like to bird like. Her feet were giant claws sharp as the teeth of a great white shark; her torso were covered with ugly blackish grey feathers; her hands were talons with nails sharp as the blades and a pair of wings with the same ugly blackish grey feathers grew out from her arms.

"Sebastian… Run!" Julian whispered as the monster hissed and lunged at them. Sebastian, who was too shocked to move, was yanked away by Hunter, just in time. The woman-like monster landed on where Sebastian was standing just seconds ago.

"Get to the door! She wouldn't be able to get in!" Hunter yelled and Sebastian looked at him in wide eyes. He was still too shocked to move and was locked in fear.

"Sebastian!" Julian cried and Sebastian finally snapped out from his shock. With a yelp, he dodged just as the monster lunged at him and missed again. He looked up and saw his brother rushing to him.

"Come on, we have to go!" The elder Smythe said frantically as he searched his pockets. "And here, take this! You will need that!"

He handed Sebastian a blue ball-point pen, the one that Sebastian used as a toy when he was young. The moment the stationary hit Sebastian's hand, it started to get heavier and lengthen four times to 1.2 metre long. Its texture changed to a more metallic nature. A bronze sword now rested on Sebastian's palm. It was giving out a faint blue colour with some patterns embedded on the blade. The monster spun again and lunged at two brothers again. In this moment of desperation, Julian pushed his little brother away. Sebastian hit the ground, the sword flew away from his grasp. Looking up, he saw the monster slammed into his brother with a lightning speed. Her sharp claws tore a huge chunk of flesh away from Julian's arm, the wound was very deep and blood was spraying out freely. The monster shrieked in a gleeful manner and Sebastian saw red.

Anger replaced the fear and shock and was now rushing in Sebastian's blood vessels. With a roar, he snatched the sword form the ground and lunged at the monster which flew straight at him at the same time.

**Clang!**

Sebastian's blade clashed with the monster's sharp claws. The monster lunged again and Sebastian rolled beneath her. He got to his fallen brother's side as Hunter carefully helped him get to his feet.

"Jules! Are you okay?" Sebastian asked in fear and concern.

"Watch out!" Hunter yelled and Sebastian turned to see the monster was only a metre away from them. With a rush of strength, Sebastian did the only thing that his instinct told him to do: Swung the sword.

The blade cut through her feathery body like a ninja cut a row of apples with his sword. With an anguish screech, the monster exploded into a pile of blackish grey powder and a dozen of feathers floating in the air. Some screeches and growls could be heard near the campus and then, everything was quiet again, only the sound of dripping blood rang in the quiet evening air. Wait, blood!

Sebastian spun around and saw his brother's arm was still bleeding freely. Hunter was now inspecting his wound and took out a first aid kit that he didn't even know the taller boy had been carrying around. The sword shrunk back to the ball-point pen as the door burst open and Principal Carmichael, Liza, Cooper and his group ran out. Carmichael and Cooper widened their eyes and hurried to Julian's side.

"What happened? Who did this?!" Carmichael asked in concern.

"A harpy." Hunter replied calmly.

"What?! Why on earth can a harpy get in?! Isn't the school campus protected by Hecate's spell?!" Cooper asked.

"Yes, but the lawn was not part of the school when Hecate cast the spell so her protection spell doesn't cover that area." Carmichael explained with remorse in his voice. "I should have told you guys about this sooner."

The screeches and growls rang again and everyone jumped into action. Teddy and William lifted Julian up and moved him to the school ground with Cooper standing by his side; Emily and Hunter pushed Sebastian into walking while Carmichael brought up the rear and Liza led the group to the school's clinic. They walked by several students who looked absolutely shocked.

* * *

"So what now?" Teddy said as the group sat in the clinic. Emily and William were peeping out of the window. Cooper was sitting next to Julian's side, ignoring all the glares that Sebastian gave him. "The monsters have literally surrounded the entire school. We can finish them off but cannot hold back all of them. Also, it will be very difficult to explain with all these mortals around."

"We can't stay any longer. Their numbers will only increase." Emily reasoned.

"But can we leave like this? Julian is not in the best shape to travel. How do you explain to the security officers?" Cooper asked and everyone looked at Julian's bandaged arm.

"The mortal is coming too?" William asked.

"Of course!" Sebastian snapped. "I'm not going anywhere without my brother!"

"Then how do we get out without raising suspicion?" Emily, the forever plan thinker, challenged.

"I think I can help." Hunter spoke up.

"You again?" Teddy asked.

"Of course. I have my ways and soon after you told us that monsters were gathering the campus, I sent a message to get my help."

"Are you sure that your help can transport all of us to New York without letting the monsters troubling us?" William asked.

"I won't dare to doubt her ability unless you have decided to spend some time being tortured." Hunter said. "But yes, she can lift all you six people with ease."

"Six? What about you?"

"It's not my time to go to the camp yet."

"What? You're not coming with me?" Sebastian asked. He didn't want to go to that camp without his best friend.

"Not now, Seb." Hunter replied. "I need to keep an eye on what's going on in here. But I promise you, I will come with you to the camp, in the future, just not now. Plus, you can always call me or IM me. I'm sure that the campers will teach you how to do so."

"Okay…" Sebastian said reluctantly.

"Be happy, Seb. At least you don't need to face with those Warblers who are way too blind to see the truth about you and their own talent." Hunter said with a smirk and Sebastian laughed.

"I guess so… So when will this help show up?"

"She'll be here in-"

Just then, the door banged open and came in a blond woman in her late forties. She wore a sports suit, a black and red megaphone on her hand and a whistle around her neck. She had this terrifying aura around her that caused all the demigods except Hunter grew tense.

"Zero seconds." Hunter finished with a smirk.

* * *

"You ask my help?" The woman asked without emotion.

"Yes, Ms. Sylvester. I need you to send these six people to New York City. Guys, this is Sue Sylvester. Like what I have told you before, don't anger her unless you want to get tortured."

The group nodded nervously. Whatever this Sue Sylvester is, she is not somebody that you could mess with and got away, even when she was a human. Sue scanned the people and set her focus on Sebastian.

"Ah… Such a strong demigod… I haven't seen someone strong like you for eons. And the anger you hide in your heart… Such a tasty power…" Sue said as she licked her lips.

"Ms. Sylvester, would you please?"

"Hush, children nowadays have no patience."

"I'm telling my father about this." Hunter said quietly and somehow, this shut Sue up as she looked at Hunter sharply.

"You wouldn't dare." She said in a threatening tone.

"Try me." Hunter replied with the same tone.

"Fine." Sue said as she waved a hand and two more blond women came in.

"Sisters, we need to take these six young souls to New York. The same route?"

"Same route." They replied and pulled up a smile, an absolutely not friendly one. Sue smiled back and turned to the group.

"We will each take two of you and I hope that you keep your eyes close when we travelled." Sue said in a cheerful tone and everyone except Sebastian nodded.

"Problem, my dear?" Sue asked Sebastian.

"N… No…"

"Good, now hold on to our arms." Sue said and gradually the six people got hold of the three women's arms. Teddy and William were holding on the third blonde; Cooper and Emily on the second and Sebastian and Julian on Sue.

"Call me, okay?" Sebastian turned to ask Hunter.

"Okay. Now close your eyes."

Sebastian did and suddenly he felt his feet were standing on air. With a yelp, he grabbed hold on Sue's arm. Gales blew across his ears and he thought he heard some screams. Through a tiny crack between his eyelids, he saw they were flying over a dark world that the light of the sun could not get in. Part of the land was a wheat field but he could spot a land of barren rocks, rugged mountains flowing out lava and ejecting superheated gases on his left and a paradise-like world on his right.

"I told you keep your eyes close!" Sebastian heard Sue yelled and he shut his eyes tightly again. Their flight occurred a few more minutes before he felt his feet touched solid ground again.

"Destination arrived. You're in New York. My sisters and I have our own business to attend, so bye for now." They heard Sue said and with a flash of light, the three women were gone.

"Oh Hades, I never want to get close to those women again." William said as he rubbed his arms.

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious." Emily snapped as she combed her hair. Sebastian, on the other hand, was more concerned about his injured brother. The bandages were now soaking with blood.

"I should have brought Bobby with me…" Cooper muttered. "He could have healed his wounds by now."

"Where are we now?" Emily asked as she looked around. Somehow, Sue and her two sisters had left them in a deserted suburb area. In the darkness of the night, they could see the lights of New York City far away. A car, Cooper's car to be exact, was parked on the road side.

"Let me check the GPS." Teddy said as he took out his phone. "We're still 2 hours away from the camp. We really need to hurry up if we don't want to miss the curfew."

"Okay, guys get in." Emily said as she and Sebastian helped Julian get to the car. Teddy, William and Cooper were already in the car. But suddenly, something was moving in the dark, catching Sebastian's attention.

"What's that?" He asked as he pointed at a dark shadow slowly approaching them. Emily and Julian turned to see what the younger Smythe was seeing and they paled dramatically.

"Sebby, get in the car!" Julian exclaimed as he yanked his little brother into the vehicle and Emily jumped in from the other side.

"Start the car now!" She ordered and her group knew something bad was happening. Without hesitation, Cooper slammed on the gas and the car sped off. An angry bellow could be heard and it made Sebastian's hair stood on end. Lightning folks started flashing within the clouds as the group hurried to the camp.

* * *

"I'm calling Bobby so he can heal Julian at the camp entrance." Teddy said.

"The thing is still following us!" Sebastian exclaimed and Julian pulled him into a hug.

"It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay." He whispered.

Cooper accelerated and the dark shadow was soon lost in the dark. Rain started pouring, lightning flashed more frequently and thunders cracked the air like the heaven was in a wrath.

"We're almost there!" Emily said as they drove past a huge sign reading " **ORGANIC FRESH FRUIT CO.** " and the scenery around them changed from a wilderness to a more organized pattern and smaller signs like " _Maze of Vitis_ " and " _Citrus Forest_ ". They were now climbing up a range of hills, a big door made from white marble were within their sight. Meanwhile, the thunderstorm got more ferocious.

"Hear that, Sebby? We're almost there. We're almost there." Julian whispered but soon after that the dark figure suddenly appeared in front of them, causing Cooper to make a sharp left turn, but the figure still managed to get their car. They swerved and ran into a fence, the back wheels were stuck in a ditch. A gleeful yet terrifying roar could be heard nearby.

"Damn it!" Cooper hissed as they climbed out of their car. "Emily! Take Sebastian and Julian and go! Teddy! William! Try to hold him off!"

"Okay!" The trio shouted back as they separated.

"What is that?" Sebastian asked but there was no need for Emily or Cooper or Julian to answer him. A flash of lightning illuminated their enemy: A very tall, very bulky male. He was much more muscular than the bodybuilders on the magazines' cover. He wore nothing except a piece of yellowish brown cloth around his crotch. Moving up the body and it became less human. Thick fur covered his chest and arms and where a human head should be became a head of a bull instead, with a pair of blade-like horns and eyes emitting a horrifying dark red light.

"Go! Go!" Cooper called as the monster charged at Teddy and William. The two demigods jumped aside. Teddy swiped his hands and suddenly plant vines grew out from the ground and tied up the Minotaur's legs. The monster roared as he tried to tear its legs away from the vines. William charged with a spear that gods knew where he got that but the Minotaur grabbed onto his arms and threw him at Teddy's direction. The two demigods slammed into each other and the vines vanished, letting the monster free. With a roar, it took a deep breath from the wind.

"He's gonna charge! He's gonna charge!" Emily shouted as they were 50 metres away from the marble door. The Minotaur bellowed and charged at them. Within a blink of an eye, it was on their faces, his horns pointing straight at Sebastian. The younger Smythe closed his eyes, preparing the impact.

* * *

Except the pain never came, with a yell, Julian jumped in front of his little brother, shielding him. Therefore, the horns of Minotaur penetrated Julian instead of Sebastian. The monster retreated, tearing its horns away from the mortal who started to cough blood as he collapsed onto the ground.

"No!" Sebastian and Cooper cried in horror as the monster knelt down, its hand extended so it could snap Julian's neck. But before the furry fingers could touch the elder Smythe, a shimmering golden light engulfed him. A blinding flash and a gust of wind, and Julian Smythe vanished right in front of their eyes. What remained were a sneering monster and a pool of blood on the ground.

For a moment, no one had uttered a word. Teddy and William were still on the ground, totally shocked of what happened just now. Emily had her mouth covered by he hands, tears welling up in her beautiful stormy grey eyes. Cooper and Sebastian stared at where Julian had last been. Time seemed to have slowed down to an agonizing slow pace.

" **NO!** "

A bolt of lightning flashed and everything returned to their normal speed. Sebastian's eyes burnt with an icy blue colour as another surge of strength cascaded through his veins, powered with a fire that could never be quenched: Rage. He took out his pen which lengthened into a sword and was radiating an enormous amount of power and energy, so intense the carvings were emitting a faint blue colour. He pointed the weapon at the monster which seemed to be celebrating by roaring to the sky and flailing his arms in the air.

"You hurt my brother, and **YOU WILL** **PAY!** " The younger Smythe roared loudly and angrily in the wailing of the wind.

"Sebastian! No!" Emily tried to stop him but the young demigod had already lunged himself at the monster. The Minotaur snarled as it turned towards him. Sebastian grabbed hold onto his sword, he could feel the sword was vibrating, the blue light of the cravings flared brighter as the bull-man charged at him. The momentum was much quicker than its first time and Sebastian quickly decided that he needed to dodge. But then it happened again, time seemed to have been slowed. Sebastian felt like something had been holding onto his legs, gluing them to the ground. The monster was already in front of him and Sebastian quickly changed his plan. He jumped and his feet managed to land of the creature's head. Using it like a springboard he leaped back onto the ground as the monster rammed into a nearby tree. Turning around, Sebastian jumped again and landed on its back. Teddy and William had already run up the hill to get help and torches could be seen lighting up on the crest. Voices of people shouting could also be heard.

The monster roared and shook around, trying to get the demigod off his back but Sebastian held firm by locking his right arm around the horns and his feet stood hard on the furry, muscled back.

"Hang on! Don't get flung off!" Emily shouted from somewhere nearby. "He can only charge forward! That's what he can do! Use this as an advantage!"

The monster wheeled towards a bush which Sebastian suspected it was the hiding spot of Emily. It growled and prepared to charge and Sebastian could not allow that. No more loss of life for him tonight. One was way too much. In desperation, he kicked his foot hard on the monster's spine. The monster roared in pain as he straightened himself up. Sebastian then grabbed tightly onto the right horn to avoid being thrown down. What he didn't expect was the horn suddenly snapped with a clear but disgusting crack. Obviously, all the force applied on the bone exceeded what it could endure.

The monster screamed as Sebastian landed flat on his back and slid down a little bit down the hill. He now had a sword on his left hand and a broken horn the size of a butcher's knife, both were lethal weapons.

"Watch out!" Cooper shouted and the monster spun his head, his eyes setting on the older demigod. Sebastian, on the other hand, was not sure what to do now.

Should he let the Minotaur get Cooper?

**TBC…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tada, how is it? How do you guys feel about the brotherly moment between Sebastian and Julian as well as between Sebastian and Hunter? What about the cliffhanger? Do you guys enjoy it? I certainly do. :P
> 
> *According to Hesiod, Algos is one of the children of the goddess Eris and is the goddess of Pain, Sorrow and Grieves while Oizys is the goddess of Misery and the daughter of Nyx, the goddess of night.
> 
> Songs/Background music used:
> 
> Reviews are loved.


	4. Hercules? No, Fantasia!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story is extremely based on "The Lightning Thief". Some dialogues were borrowed from ACITW, see if you can find it. ;) And Sebastian is finally at camp. He is going to meet lots of people, both future friends and enemy, and he's gonna sing! Finally!
> 
> This story is NOT for Blaine, Klaine and Finn lovers. OOC is bound to happen. Don't like, don't read. Flames will be thrown into the Pacific Ocean.
> 
> Warning: Some racism here.

_"_ _Watch out!" Cooper shouted and the monster spun his head, his eyes setting on the older demigod. Sebastian was not sure what now._

_Should he let the Minotaur get Cooper?_

It was really a tough decision for him. The one that broke his brother's heart was standing in front of him, absolutely defenceless. He could let the monster have him and made him pay for what he did for his brother. All he needed was to do nothing. He could just do that…

But then he remembered a conversation he had with Julian, in the past.

It was during his years in Paris. Julian was in his final year of college and 4 years since the tragic ending of his and Cooper's relationship. They were on skype, talking about domestic things, brotherly things and most important of all, how much they missed each other. They could have carried on for a week but Julian had a project to finish and Sebastian needed to revise for his finals. Before they ended the conversation though, Sebastian asked a question, because he wanted to know, wanted to know the answer that had been troubling his heart.

_"_ _Jules? Do you ever regret meeting Cooper?"_

_His brother said nothing, like that question had somehow turned off his brain. After a while, he snapped out of the lingering silence and gave Sebastian a sad little smile._

_"_ _No, never ever…"_

_The two brothers just looked at each other as the elder Smythe flashed his little brother another sad smile._

_"_ _You did love Cooper, didn't you?"_

_Another moment of silence hung between the brothers._

_"_ _Yeah… I do."_

_It took Sebastian a while after they logged off, and realized that Julian said '_ _**do** _ _' instead of '_ _**did** _ _'._

Even Cooper broke his heart, after all these years, with all the unstoppable pain, sorrow and grief, Julian Smythe still loved Cooper Anderson.

His memory then brought him to the moment when Julian last talked to him before they came here.

_"_ _I appreciate how you care for me. But Sebastian, it is not okay to vent your anger and frustration to other innocents. Isaac and Loretta are responsible for this but not Blaine, not Cooper. And remember this: We are much better than those jerks outside. Don't lower yourself to the same level as them."_

And he knew what he needed to do.

Sebastian leaped and ran towards the monster which let out another roar. He jumped and pushed the monster onto the ground.

"Out of the way!" Sebastian yelled at Cooper as the bull-man grabbed onto his leg and flung him through the air like a ragged doll. He banged against a tree and slumped down, the broken horn rolled away from his grip. But seconds later, he got up again, preparing to fight with the monster for one more round.

The monster bellowed and charged at him. Sebastian leaped again and landed on its back. Wasting no time, he turned and struck his sword down with both of his hands. The metallic blade came in from its back and ran through its rib cage until the tip of the sword got out from the other side. The monster let out an agony cry as he collapsed onto its knees. Its fur and skin started peeling off and turning into dust. Within 10 seconds, the entire monster disintegrated into a pile of brown dust.

No one had uttered a voice, Sebastian panted heavily as he drove his sword into the ground. His legs were shaking so violently they could not support his weight anymore. The rage that had been running freely in his veins went out and the adrenaline rush ebbed. All the injuries and fatigues caught up and Sebastian leaned heavily onto his sword for support. There's also one thing that caught up in his mind: his brother.

He saw his brother being stabbed by the horns of Minotaur before he vanished in a flash of golden light. He wasn't sure where his brother was now but with all those injuries, the chance Julian could make it was unbelievably slim. He's as good as dead. That's it. The last and only blood relative that cared for him was gone. He was truly alone. Tears welled up in Sebastian's eyes as he curled his hands tightly around the sword's hilt, mourning for his brother. Then, someone patted on his back. He turned and saw Emily's concerned and sad stormy grey eyes and her straight blonde hair. She engulfed him in a warm comforting hug as he slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

Sebastian had been caught between waking up and passing out. He could hear people talking but their voices all seemed to be muffled, like they were talking with a thick blanket on their mouths. He could also feel that he was now placed on a bed with a soft mattress with someone gently cleaning his face and spoon-feeding him a pudding with cookies and vanilla cream flavour.

One time he managed to stay awake for 30 seconds, his out focused eyes saw a someone, a man, looking after him. He was sitting next to him, feeding him the pudding and gently scraped drips off his chin with the spoon.

"Jules?" He croaked. The figure froze and gently whispered something to his ear.

"It's okay. You're safe now, you're safe now."

Before Sebastian could say something more, he lost contact to consciousness again.

When he finally came back to the living world, he was alone. He was in a room with a nice view to the field and the sea. The wind blew in, carrying the scent of seawater and different plants. A cup of tea-like drink was placed on a table next to him. Sebastian tried to get the cup as his mouth cavity was dry like the land baking under the ferocious African sun. Easier said than done, his body was still weak.

The door opened and Emily came in with a basin of water. Seeing him awake, she smiled.

"You're awake!" She hurried to his side, put down the basin and handed him the cup of drink. Helping him to hold the glass, she gently put the straw to his lips. The first taste of the drink made his tears well up. Sebastian had been expecting the slightly bitterness of tea but what flooded his mouth tasted like a liquid version of chocolate and cream puff, the very same one that Julian made him as a reward when he got praised at school or performed well. He could almost see Julian's fond, caring smile as he drained the cup. The drink gave him a new pool of energy and all his physical pains somehow disappeared. However, the emotional pain, the guilt and sorrow didn't get away. Emily must have seen it because her face turned sad, Sebastian looked down, not willing to show any signs of weakness. He did not want pity from anyone.

"How do you feel?"

"Like I could dislocate Finn Hudson's jaw with my hand."

She didn't look like she's happy with the answer but decided to let it drop.

"How much do you remember? Do you remember me?"

"You are Emily Santia, the daughter of Athena. And…" He paused as he faced the inevitable.

"My brother… Is he…" Sebastian asked.

Emily looked mournful.

"I honestly don't know…" She whispered. "But at least you're safe, that's what he had always wanted. And this maybe something you wanted…"

She handed him an old blue box. Inside was a bull's horn, sharp as the blade. The base was rugged from a violent tearing. The tips were splattered with dried blood.

The blood of Julian Smythe.

Sebastian could hold no longer, he dropped the box as his hands started shaking uncontrollably. Tears started overflowing his eye sockets and he started sobbing. Emily engulfed him in a hug, gently rubbing his back as she cried in silent too. She had just met the brothers but she had already grown fond of them. She admired their close relationship and how much they cared for each other. Now, one of them was gone, leaving a broken young soul behind, mourning for his loss.

* * *

"What about the others?" Sebastian asked quietly when he finally calmed down. "Teddy? William? And… Cooper?"

"Teddy and William are all fine, a bit bruised but they have been through worse." Emily soothed but her expression turned sad. "Cooper… I last saw him when we reported to Chiron and Mr. D after we brought you to the camp, which was already four days ago. Then I have never seen him again… But Alice told me that he had been locking himself inside his room. No one knew what he was doing but Alice and the rest of the Aphrodite's cabin all heard him crying in the night."

Sebastian said nothing. He was still not sure what to think about the older Anderson. Emily just patted him on the shoulder.

"Are you good enough to walk?"

"I think so."

"Good. Chiron and Mr. D are waiting. I will take you there." The blonde gently helped Sebastian to get to his feet and led him out of the room and down the porch. During all this time, Sebastian held onto the horn tightly, so tight that he could feel the bone was pressing against his chest. Looking up, he could finally have a good look to the camp that his brother, Principal Carmichael, Liza and the group had been talking about.

The camp was located on the southern shore of Long Island, close to its tip because he could see the lighthouse far away, in a U-shaped valley and a fan-shaped beach extended into the Atlantic. The valley itself was surrounded by a forest on the outskirt which was gradually replaced by grassland when moved towards the shoreline and the centre of the valley. Several creeks and rivers flowed through the site and small ponds and lakes were dotted in the valley. There were also buildings in ancient Greek style, an amphitheatre, a circular arena, an open-air pavilion with all brand-new white marble as their foundations. There were more structures in the site but Sebastian could not see them clearly because Emily urged him to go on.

At the end of the porch, under a shadow of a maple tree, sat two men around a square table. None of them were speaking so Sebastian wondered if that's a good time.

"The one on the left is Mr. D, our camp director. Be polite." Emily whispered to Sebastian's ear as she nodded at a small man with short curly black hair and purple tips. He wore a white shirt, with a purple vest on the outside, a tiger-patterned blanket rested on his legs.

"And the other one is Chiron." Emily nodded at a middle-aged man but what caught Sebastian's attention was the man's lower part of the body. It was a brown horse trunk. The four strong legs were bent into a comforting angle so this Chiron could be on the same height level of Mr. D. He wore a tweed purplish red jacket with thick brown hair and beard.

"Mr. D, Chiron. Sebastian Smythe." She introduced and Chiron first turned to greet the younger Smythe with a warm smile.

"Ah… Sebastian Smythe. I have been waiting for you." His voice was filled with wisdom and mysteries.

Emily put down a chair so Sebastian could sit down. Mr. D turned to look at him with bloodshot eyes and a sleepy look. Now, that look… Sebastian felt he had seen that somewhere.

"Alright, I think I need to say this. Welcome to Camp Epineio. Blah, blah, blah."

The camp director burped and Sebastian could clearly smell his breath, like alcohol. Wait… alcohol. That's the answer.

"You're Teddy's father." Sebastian blurted out. Emily and Chiron widened their eyes.

"Ooh… So the new comer had figured me out already. Who am I then? Just so you know, no prize for the right guess."

"You're Dionysus, the God of wine." Sebastian said after racking his brain for the answer.

"Well, what do they say for this? Wall-nut?" Mr. D said tiredly while Emily turned away, trying not to laugh at the god's accent.

"It's well done." Chiron replied calmly.

"Ugh, whatever. Well done, young one."

Sebastian was still looking at Mr. D and the God frowned.

"What are you looking at?" The wine god asked impatiently.

"Well… you… you look different." Sebastian said and Emily choked on her breath.

Suddenly, the black pupils of Dionysus's eyes turned into a purplish fire. Sebastian gulped, hoping that he was not angering the first god that he met and would probably stay by his side for who knew how long.

"And what are you comparing me to, young one." Mr. D said in a threatening tone. Next to him, Sebastian could hear Emily silently muttering.

" _Not the movie that begins with an H. Not the movie that begins with an H. Not the movie that begins with an H._ "

"Movie begins with an H?" Sebastian asked in confusion. "You mean ' ** _Hercules_** ' from Disney?"

Both Emily and Chiron gasped as the purplish fire in wine god's eyes flared up dramatically.

"No, that's not what I'm thinking. It's still a Disney movie, but not ' ** _Hercules_** '."

Chiron and Emily let out a breath and the purplish fire dimmed down a little.

"Then what?" The god asked grumpily.

"' ** _Fantasia_** ', the old one, made in 1940. You were having a wild wine party with a bunch of satyrs, centaurs and unicorns until Zeus interrupted it by throwing his lightning bolts at you."

Thunders suddenly cracked, startling everyone as they looked at the sky. Dionysus just looked at Sebastian in a calculating way.

"Well, that's something new." He finally said. "95% of the new comers compared me to that stupid movie **_(A.N.: No offense to those who like it.)_**. I still don't like how they portrayed me as a fat, silly dude who couldn't even walk a straight line, but it's still much better than the H-thing."

"Well, I'm tired anyway." Mr. D yawned as he got up. "I think I'll take a nap first. Chiron, you know what to do. And you, Sean Smith. Mind your manners."

He disappeared into a room nearby and only then Emily and Chiron finally relaxed.

"For the love of the gods, that was close." Chiron said, taking a sip of his coffee.

"I think he is going to turn you into a grape vine! You gave us quite a scare." Emily said, patting on her chest.

"What's wrong with the movie ' ** _Hercules_** '?" Sebastian asked.

"Let's just say all the Olympians, both major and minor, have never liked it, from the plot setting to how the gods are portrayed." The Centaur said as more thunder rumbled. "Emily, my dear, I think showing the newcomer around won't be a problem to you, I guess?"

"No, sir."

"Good, now if you'll excuse me, I need to check on his bunk first. Cabin eleven for now. And Sebastian, make yourself home here."

Sebastian really wanted to yell, it would be impossible for him to find a ' **home** ' anymore because his home was where his heart was, and his heart was with his brother who was gone, but he said nothing, just watching in silence as the centaur left. Emily approached him.

"You're good to go?" She asked gently.

* * *

Turned out, the place that Sebastian had been staying, or the Big House as they called, was served as their main quarter and the only building that was built in a typical camping house style instead of Ancient Greek style. It was four storeys tall with a comfortable light brown colour and white trims. Vines of plants were coiling around some of the columns, giving it a very natural aura.

The two passed the sports field which was filled with people playing different kinds of sports, some played on their own; some played with satyrs. About three quarters of the campers were roughly the same age or older than him. As they walked by, some of them noticed Sebastian and stopped what they were doing. Some were whispering and pointing at him but thankfully Emily shielded Sebastian at her best. They walked by an area filled with different kinds of fruit. According to Emily, these gardening and agricultural products were covered the expenses of the camp. In the field, a satyr was sitting on a rock, playing his flute with a relaxing tone while five beautiful girls were inspecting and picking the ripped ones. The one with long blonde hair was playing with a butterfly with her companion, who had a long shinning brown hair. The other three just shook their head fondly. Then one of them, a cheerful woman with a Chinese and Cherokee heritage saw them and she waved. Thinking that it would be rude if he didn't give any response, Sebastian waved back and started to blush as he heard the other four girls noticed him and waved at him.

"It seems you've already getting the girls' attention with your charm." Emily said in an amused tone. She chuckled as Sebastian blushed even more.

"The one that started waving at you is Linda, daughter of Demeter. The two that stood beside her are Shawna, Hecate's daughter, and Lisa, Hermes's child. The African-American with short curly black hair is Shawna and the Caucasian with brown hair is Lisa. The remaining two are Caitlin and Felicity, both are my maternal half-sisters. The blonde is Felicity and the other one is Caitlin." Emily introduced.

"Hey, Em! Who is that cutie next to you?" Felicity called from the field and Sebastian's face got even redder and he looked away. The girls started giggling as they approached them.

"Oh, look at him! He's so adorable!" Linda said.

"Look at his deep sea-green eyes, it's so beautiful, like the finest emerald." Lisa appraised.

"Aww… He's blushing! How cute!" Shawna laughed.

"Oh man…" Sebastian whispered, his face redder than a tomato.

"Oh my god! His voice is so good! I bet he is a fantastic singer." Caitlin said.

"Ladies, leave the poor young lad alone. And where's Alice? You six usually come as a group." Emily said, though she was trying not to laugh at Sebastian's situation.

"She's at her cabin, checking on Cooper." Shawna said and Sebastian stiffened. He hurriedly excused himself and walked down the path, leaving the girls confused, except Emily.

"Well, he and Cooper have some histories and from what happened a few days ago, he's not yet ready to open up his heart." Emily sighed and the girls fell silent. They had witnessed what had happened and they all felt sorry for him.

"That's okay. We'll look after him like he's our own brother." Caitlin said with the other girls nodded in agreement.

"Okay, I'll see you later then. Have fun." Emily said as she ran to follow Sebastian. She found him sitting on the shore of the camp's largest lake where the campers practiced all kinds of water sports except swimming, his eyes gazed into the far end of the horizon. He looked so lost and sad and deflated. Sighing in sympathy, she sat down next to him.

"You know, I'll always be there for you. The same goes to Teddy, William and Cooper. You're not alone." She quietly said.

"Why should you?" It sounded harsher than Sebastian intended to. "I mean, you're not related to me and you have just known me for a day."

"There shouldn't be a reason for someone to care for the others. We're not trying to replace your brother, but making you feel better is the very least thing we can do. We care about you, Sebastian. We care."

Taking a deep breath, Sebastian calmed himself down.

"Thanks." He said and they started talking, about Sebastian's interests, inevitably, they had to talk about Julian as he played an essential role in Sebastian's past. However, knowing that he was not alone really helped. Sebastian felt the pain on his shoulders lessened. They also talked about his feud with the Andersons and Cooper's part in it.

"I really want to blame him after this, after my brother… disappeared…" Sebastian whispered. "But I know it won't be fair. He couldn't control what happened back then."

"I know… Seb, I know…" Emily whispered back quietly. "So are you ready to go? We still have a lot of things to explore."

"K."

"So where do you want to go first?"

"How about we walk along the river into the woods, and then walk along the shore?" Sebastian suggested.

"That's good." Emily smiled as they crossed a bridge over the river.

* * *

Sebastian had the first glimpse of the forest when he was in the Big House, but he didn't realize how huge it was when they walked closer. It seemed the place had been untouched since the last Ice Age. The trees rose more than 100 metres, straight towards the sky. Their trunks' diameters were so large that it would take more than 20 people to encircle it. Thick vines could be seen in the higher place. The tree crowns were so thick that most of the sunlight was blocked out. The river quietly flowed beneath the lush green canopies.

"Hah… That's refreshing." Sebastian said as he took a deep breath of pristine air of the forest. He gently kicked the fallen leaves on the ground as he listened to the soft flow of river nearby. They had been like this for the past two hours.

"You really love this place."

"Yes, I love being closed to nature, especially a forest with a river and the seashore. They give me a sense of serenity. And…"

"Yes?"

"Promise me that you won't let the others know."

"I promise."

"I can sing my hearts out without people picking on me."

"Oh, I see." Emily said as they stopped by a bend of river. "I kind of have guessed it. You're in the Warblers, aren't you?"

"Yes and I really love singing." A soft breeze blew by and Sebastian started humming a melody. He stopped when he remembered Emily was nearby.

"You can sing whenever you want, no one can hear you here and I'm not gonna judge." She encouraged him with a smile. Blushing slightly, Sebastian started singing.

****_I don't know if You can hear me_  
****_Or if You're even there._  
**_I don't know if You will listen  
_ ** ****_To a humble prayer._

****_They tell me I'm just an outcast;_  
****_I shouldn't speak to You._  
**_Still I see Your face and wonder:  
_ ** ****_Were You once an outcast too?_

Sebastian started walking along the leaves-paved path, singing beautifully all the way with Emily following him behind.

****_God help the outcasts_  
****_Hungry from birth._  
**_Show them the mercy  
_ ** ****_They don't find on earth._

****_The lost and forgotten,_  
****_They look to You still._  
**_God help the outcasts  
_ ** ****_Or nobody will._

He leaned against a tree and continued to sing as he looked up at the sky through the openings between the trees.

****_I ask for nothing,_  
****_I can get by._  
**_But I know so many  
_ ** ****_Less lucky than I._

****_God help the outcasts,_  
****_The poor and downtrod._  
**_I thought we all were  
_ ** ****_The children of God._

They reached the shore where the trees got replaced by fine white sand as the Atlantic Ocean gently crashed ashore.

****_I don't know if there's a reason_  
****_Why some are blessed, some not._  
****_Why the few You seem to favour,_  
**_They fear us, flee us,  
_ ** ****_Try not to see us?_

****_God help the outcasts,_  
****_The tattered, the torn,_  
****_Seeking an answer_  
****_To why they were born._  
**_Winds of misfortune  
_ ** ****_Have blown them about._

**_You made the outcasts;  
_ ** **_Don't cast them out._ **

****_The poor and unlucky,_  
****_The weak and the odd,_  
**_I thought we all were  
_ ** ****_The children of God._

Sebastian pure voice got carried in the wind and it seemed it could reach the highest corner of heaven and reached the deepest part of the sea. Emily was really touched by his voice. For the past two and a half minutes, Sebastian had shown the world how beautiful his soul was, how much power he had.

"That's… I have never heard something beautiful like that." She whispered.

"Thanks, but please don't let the others know."

"Why? You have an awesome voice that could rival some Apollo's kids." Emily said as they walked along the shore. Staring into the water, Sebastian wanted to touch the water, he yearned for the feel of water on his skin, the way the molecules penetrated his skin via the pores. What he didn't expect was to see a group of women, mostly teenage girls, lying or sitting in the water, pointing, smiling and waving at him.

"They are the Nereids. Like the other nymphs in the camp, they are really kind and helpful and can be very good friends, just make sure you don't flirt with them." Emily smiled.

"Uh… That's not gonna happen… I'm not attracted to girls anyway." Sebastian muttered.

"You're gay?"

"Yeah, got a problem?"

"No." Emily said with a slight smile on her face. "I just wonder how many hearts will break when the girls hear this news. We don't judge you because of your sexuality so you don't need to hide who you are."

Sebastian smiled, the first real smile he had in more than 5 years. Emily then told them that this part of the forest, the southern part of it, was safe for strolling and picnic while the northern part of the forest was used for training purpose and was stocked with tamed monsters.

"How do we exactly train?" Sebastian asked as they walked back from the shore and the cheerful Nereids.

"With shields and swords, of course. Not always a sword, it could be a spear or chain or arrows or dagger or something like that. But I guess you're gonna use a sword. So what remains is the shield, I will let you pick one when we're go by the armoury. In case none of the shields suit you we can always order one from the forge nearby." Emily said as she pointed at a shop on the opposite bank of the river. A black house made of iron was sitting next to it and was emitting white smoke in the chimneys. I guess you have already known the basic. After all you have fought two monsters already."

"Yeah…" Sebastian grumbled.

"Sorry, I don't mean to mention that." Emily quickly apologized. "Anyway, the river kinds of separate the learning and training area from the living and leisure area: The east bank is living and leisure area while the west end is the learning and training area. The stables, the learning rooms, the arena, the armoury and the forge are all on the western banks while the cabins, the mess hall, the climbing wall, the amphitheatre and the sports ground are all on the east."

* * *

"And this is the mess hall." Emily said as they reached a vacant plaza, with a dozen of tables like the one Sebastian saw in Harry Potter movies, except they were all made from marble. They were arranged in a U shape with a long table sat on the end of the U. A huge fireplace was located in the centre. The entire was unsheltered, no wall, no roof.

"There's a magical veil hanging over it so we won't get drenched in case it's raining or snowing." Emily explained as they walked to a more quiet area. "And this is the living area, the toilets and showers are located in the end, see the building in grey marble? That's the one. But each cabin has its own toilets and showers, so not many people will use the public one."

The cabins were located between the river and the southern forest. Like the mess hall, they were arranged in a U shape with an enormous burning hearth in the centre. Two of the cabins were located at the base, backing against the forest, and five in a curve on either side. Each of them had their own unique building style. The only thing that all appeared on the twelve cabins were the large brass number above the double door panels and on the wall. The left was all odd numbers while the right was all even numbers. The common area was roughly the size of a football field dotted with statues, mainly Greek gods, fountains, flower beds, benches and some fish ponds. The entire place was very quiet, only the cracking of fire and chipping of birds could be heard.

"Let's take a look, shall we?" Emily said as they walked towards the houses. Sebastian then noticed someone, a girl about 12 years old was sitting on the stone-lining of the hearth, poking the burning coals with a stick and occasionally throwing some new coals to the fire. He wanted to ask Emily who the girl was but then she suddenly disappeared. Sebastian thought his eyes were playing tricks on him but he decided to drop the topic. The last time he asked the others about something like that, the result was not pleasant at all.

"Hey, you okay?" Emily called and Sebastian shook his head.

"I'm fine, just a bit zoned out."

They were now standing in front of cabin twelve which looked like a winery with a vineyard as their backyard. Grape vines were coiling around the columns and their window and door curtains and door mats were all made of tiger patterned cloth. Several oak barrels were placed at the corner. A large brass number 12 was marked on the eaves inside a wine glass surrounded by ripe purple grapes and dancing satyrs.

"Dionysus's cabin?" Sebastian asked.

"Yup. I wonder if Teddy is in there."

"No, he's not." A new voice piped up and the two turned. They saw a beautiful African-American with skin as smooth as the finest chocolate and long dark brown hair. Her light brown eyes were sparkling with self-confidence while her light pink dress was swaying gently in the breeze.

"Alice. How are you?" Emily greeted happily as the two girls hugged.

"I'm fine, thank you." The girl, Alice smiled and then noticed Sebastian's presence. "Oh, hi."

"This is Sebastian Smythe, the newest camper. Sebastian, this is Alice West."

"Uhm… Hi?" Sebastian greeted awkwardly.

"Oh he's so cute." Alice just giggled.

"She's sometimes like that, that's a trace of Aphrodite's daughters." Emily explained with a fond smile.

"So are you guys touring the cabins?" Alice asked. "I can show you my cabin, if you don't mind."

"Well… I guess it is okay…" Sebastian agreed, slightly blushing. "But just so you know, I don't swing that way."

"Aww… I wonder how many hearts will break when they hear that." Alice said and Emily just laughed.

"And I said exactly the same thing."

"But on the plus side, we can talk about cute boys together." Alice said excitedly as they walked towards cabin ten, Aphrodite's cabin.

* * *

Cabin ten was perhaps the most fanciest among the entire camp. Light sea blue walls and white sparkling marble columns with fragrant pink curtains. The walls were decorated with paintings of mirrors and red roses. Some real red roses were also placed in pots, lining up on the marble fences. On the roof, a pretty brass number 10 was placed within a white shell made of marble with a heart shape made from two swans surrounded it.

"So this is my cabin. There are a lot of hot boys in it. There must be some of your type in this school of fish. Oh by the way, they will also hit on you because you're a cutie and a hottie, so don't get surprised if they flirt with you." Alice winked as she opened the door. Immediately, an intense smell of perfume hit them, making Sebastian to frown. The walls of the common area were painted with two colours, the right was pink and the left was blue. A mini fountain was located at the back of the cabin. Two sets of fancy lockers occupied the walls next to the main door. Each one had a name painted on it. The remaining walls were decorated with famous and attractive Hollywood movie stars and singers or just some random hot men or women. Several coaches of different lengths were arranged in a way that they were facing the fountain.

"So the left side is for the boys while the right side is for the girls." Alice introduced as they stopped by the fountain. "The washing basins and showers were located at the end of the sleeping area. Don't wash your hands or any parts of your body with the fountain's water or you'll get burned. The boys cannot go to the girls' area without permission but the girls can go to the boys' area at free will. Each camper will have their own room, single bed, in-suite bathroom, a mini-common area and a mini equipped pantry. That's universal for all the cabins, the difference are-"

Sebastian yelped in surprise as someone smacked his ass. Spinning around he saw a blonde male, who looked like Matt Donovan in **_"The Vampire Diaries"_** winked at him and blew a kiss. Normally, it was Sebastian who did all those flirty works and he was totally cool with it, but now he was not in the mood to wear his flirtatious masks. Some giggles and snickers rang in the common area as some girls and a few boys gathered at the door. They were all winking or catcalling or whistling at him. Some were fanning themselves and throwing all the hints.

"Lucas!" Alice scolded. "Don't scare him!"

"Aww, come on. Alice." The blonde, Lucas, pouted. "You know he's totally my type."

"And 10 minutes ago, you told us that the one that sang with this beautiful voice outside was your dream man." A Latino who looked like Tyler Lockwood snorted as he circled his arm around the waist of another young man that looked like Jeremy Gilbert. Emily and Sebastian widened their eyes and bit on their lips. No one noticed that, except Alice. She widened her eyes as she looked at the younger Smythe. He was trying his best to tell her not to tell anyone via his eyes.

The boys and the girls then started debating what would be Sebastian's type, much to the embarrassment of the boy and the annoyance of Alice and Emily. But then, Sebastian felt someone touched his chin from behind.

"Well, well, well. Look what we have here… A newbie, a hot, cute newbie." A flirty, no, a slutty voice rang. Immediately, the boys ran back to their area and slammed the doors closed. The girls were all glaring at the new comer.

"How about we have some time, just the two of us?" A girl with blue eyes and a waist-length blond curly hair that was obviously dyed whispered within a very uncomfortable distance.

"Sloane, what are you doing here?" Alice hissed as Emily face-palmed and groaned in annoyance. "You're supposed to check on Coo-"

"Piss off, black princess." The blonde said in disdain like Alice was some dirt beneath her feet.

"Sloane!" Alice snapped. "We have all reached an agreement we will look after Cooper until he came out from his room! Today it's your turn!"

"And I said piss off!" Sloane snapped. "Why don't you wear some skin whitening so people won't bump into you during the night?"

She turned back to Sebastian and continued her flirt.

"So before I'm so rudely interrupted, what do you think about my offer? Would you have a hot night with me rather than hanging out with these losers?"

"Sloane! I'm warning you!" Alice snapped.

"Go back to Africa, will you?" Sloane screeched and Sebastian felt his anger flared up, he didn't like this Sloane. And from his observation, none of her sisters and brothers liked her too.

"Get your hands off me." He began coldly. "And apologize to Alice."

Sloane looked shocked. Did this boy just turn her down?

"I'm sorry?"

"I think you heard me. But since you seemed to be unable to understand this simple statement so I will explain it to you: You can chuck your little fantasy into the trash bin because it will never happen." Sebastian said calmly as he freed his hands from Sloane's grip. "Racists and I are mutually exclusive and I don't swing that way."

"Oh… So you're a fairy then." Sloane leant in again. "Well, I can turn people straight and you're gonna be one too."

She touched his arms again.

"Let go." Sebastian said in a calm but threatening tone. "And I hate homophobes to no end too."

"Come on. I can straighten-"

"I said **let GO!** " Sebastian finally snapped and a wave roared in his ears.

Suddenly, the water from the fountain welled up and hit Sloane straight on the face. She fell onto her butt screaming as she rubbed her face. When she lowered her hands and saw her make-up ruined, her face started to feel burnt. She snarled and lunged at Sebastian. The water from the fountain shot out and hit her again, this time it ruined her clothes. Holes started to appear on the fabric like it was not hit by water but by strong acid instead. The skin area exposed to the water started to redden and blisters started popping up like bamboo shoot after a spring rain.

"What's happening here?" A voice demanded and Sloane stopped her advance. Alice, Emily and Sebastian turned to see Cooper standing by the door of the boys' area. He looked a bit thinner and paler than Sebastian last saw him. His hair was messier and longer and his beards got longer.

"Well?"

"This bastard started it!" Sloane screamed. The other girls and boys were laughing at her expense silently.

"Excuse me?!" Alice shouted angrily. "It was **YOU** who started hitting on him, despite the fact that he had already said no! Then you went all racist and homophobic. So the responsibility is not on him, it is all on you! **YOU!** "

"No one asks you! You s-"

"Sloane!" Cooper scolded. "Apologize! Now!"

"Why should I-" Her sentence was cut off by a glare from both Cooper and Emily.

"Fine, sorry." She apologized reluctantly to Alice. Sebastian snorted at her insincerity. She glared at him hatefully.

"You'll be sorry!" Sloane hissed in anger. "You have just made an enemy with the wrong person."

"Look fucker, unless you want your so ' ** _beautiful_** ' face thoroughly rinsed with the fountain water again, shut the fuck up!" Sebastian threatened and huffing, Sloane the slut stormed back to her room.

Soon, silence took over everything again. Cooper, Sebastian, Emily and Alice looked at each other in an awkward silence until the older Anderson cleared his throat.

"Well, I guess it's settled then." He then retreated to his room.

"What's wrong with him?" Emily asked.

"Maybe we should talk about it outside." Alice said quietly and the two girls started to leave. Sebastian followed but not before he turned to look at the room where Cooper had disappeared into.

* * *

"Ever since you guys came back he had been locking himself in his room." Alice said when they left the Aphrodite cabin. "No matter how hard we tried, he just wouldn't get out of his room. We were a bit confused too, the mission was considered as a success, but when he got back, he looked like he had lost his soul somewhere on his way back and he kept on muttering ' _I failed… I have failed him… I cannot save him…_ ' all the time. Sometimes when we knocked on his door, we would still hear him repeating those sentences and occasionally, sobs."

Emily looked really sad as she knew what had caused Cooper to be like this.

"We wanted to tell Chiron about this but then he came out and told us he was fine. And that Sloane arrogantly said she would lighten him up with her body riding his- Oh excuse me for the language but that's the most fucking gruesome picture we have ever heard. We can't even imagine it…"

"She's still having a crush on him?" Emily asked in disbelief. "I thought she'd moved on when Cooper turned her down like three years ago."

"She has **never** moved on. Her ego is much bigger than we have originally thought." Alice said with disdain. "She kept on repeating that she could turn the gay guys straight within a brink of the eye. So far, none of gay babes have done so and even straight guys all feel disgusted by her. If I may say, she keeps bringing shame to our mom and our cabin."

The girls shook their heads.

"Speaking of which, I wonder who managed to capture Cooper's heart." Alice asked in curiosity. "I once remembered we walked into his room to play some pranks and we noticed that he had placed a photo of a cute boy on his night stand."

"How does he look like?" Emily asked quietly as she looked at Sebastian who started trembling.

"He has an athletic body build, short light sandy blonde hair and a pair of bluish-green eyes. He is like another Ganymede but what caught my attention is this man's face always seemed to carry a sense of sadness." Alice elaborated. Sebastian gasped as Emily shot him a worried look and a confused look from the African-American.

"No… no… This can't be… He can't be…" Sebastian whispered, his voice trembling.

"You know this guy?"

Sebastian took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves.

"That person… is my brother… They were a couple when I was much younger but then it ended very badly. He didn't contact him anymore and my brother was heartbroken."

"Really? Maybe you can call him-"

"That's out of the league."

"Why not? They can settle this down. Why don't you just give Cooper a chance?"

"Because I don't even know where my brother is now! We can't!" Sebastian suddenly yelled. "None of us know where he is! My brother disappeared soon after he got stabbed by the Minotaur with its horns! Right in front of the camp door! And before that a harpy just badly injured his arms! He's fucking injured and I don't even know where he is or is he alive! I… I can't lose him… He's my last relative that cared for me… I can't lose him… I… I can't…"

Sebastian just broke down sobbing. Within seconds, Emily and Alice had engulfed him in a hug, whispering how sorry they were. It took them some time before Sebastian told them to move on.

"I swear that I have cried all the tears from the last five years." Sebastian grumbled, trying to lighten the mood as they reached cabin eight.

"No one is in there." Sebastian said as he looked at the cabin which had midnight blue walls and roof. The walls were decorated with paintings of different wild animals, mainly stags, under a forest. The columns were made of solid wood instead of marble. The number 8 was interlocking within an arrow with its string fully drawn and a bow made in a shape of a crescent moon.

"Of course no one is living in there. This cabin is for the maiden goddess Artemis." Alice explained with a roll of her eyes.

"So why will she have one? She's still a virgin so there will be no demigod child from her." Sebastian asked.

"Not so loud, Seb. You won't want the goddess to hear what you have just said. We don't want to have another Calydonian Boar." Alice slapped his arms.

"Calydonian Boar? The one that Artemis sent-"

"After Oeneus forgot to offer a sacrifice to her! You will not want to offend her! The cabin is for an honorary. She'd be mad if she didn't have one and the last time she got angry because of this, the Calydonian Boar resulted."

"Let's move on then, shall we? There's nothing interesting here." Sebastian then started walking towards cabin six.

* * *

Cabin six was like a place where a library, a laboratory and a workshop were combined together. A giant golden owl was imprinted on the door. Figures of snakes and olive trees could be seen on the white curtains. Two round shields with a snake-headed woman was sculpted onto the wall. The brass number six was put above a nest of olive branches with a very complex and abstract background.

"So this is the spring of wisdom, cabin six, for the Goddess of Wisdom, Athena, and my mother." Emily proudly introduced. She opened the door and Sebastian saw a sea of books. Stand after stand of books lined up in the cabin, not to mention those that piled around the corner or under the window. Sebastian believed that he total amount of books collected in this area could put the national library to shame.

"How do you guys manage to keep all the books inside such a small cabin?" Sebastian asked.

"The interior space could expand or contract upon the wish of occupants, the rule is also applied to all the other cabins." Emily explained. "As you can see, this is the common area and the library area. On the back side, the left door will lead to males' rooms while the right will lead to the females' rooms. The one in the middle will lead to the workshops and laboratories area as well as the storage area where we stored our designed armours."

"Okay. Uhm, is that Felicity over there?" Sebastian asked, pointing at blonde wearing a pair of glasses, sitting in front of a computer with owl decoration.

"Yes, that's her." Emily said as she and Alice smiled proudly for their sister and friend. "She's a genius in computer science. You may also find Caitlin in the laboratory area. She's a doctor. And trust me, her medical skills can sometimes rival the Apollo's children."

"Ooook… I wonder if I can borrow a few books to read." Sebastian muttered.

"You cannot take the books out of the cabin but you can read it here from 7am to 11pm."

"Sweet, I wonder if I can find classics like " ** _Moby-Dick_** "…"

* * *

Cabin four's design was like an environmentalist's dream come true. The roof of the cabin had real grass and wild flowers growing. The walls were made from virgin soil, sandy clay, glutinous rice, bamboo pieces, firs, chalk and pebbles. A mature wheat field was painted on the wall. Flowers were planted on the window and the curtains were made form bamboo. Vines coiled around the apple wood columns and a few pots of crops were placed on the fence. The brass number four was encased by the Horn of Plenty from the above and a bunch of mature wheat beneath.

"Demeter's cabin." Emily said. "The dream place for people who are keen on gardening, agriculture and anything related to botany."

"Hikaru Sulu will love this place." Sebastian muttered and the girls raised their eyebrows.

"Ooh, so you're a trekkie." Alice teased and Sebastian felt himself was going to explode from embarrassment. He hurried away from the cabin.

* * *

Cabin two was another one that had no campers. Judging from its appearance, Sebastian could guess why. This cabin was much taller than the other cabins and had this elegant and dignity aura emitting. Its walls and roof were made from snow-white marble, much whiter and purer than the one used in other buildings. The columns were slim with golden pomegranates circling them while real pomegranates crowded at the base. Its red flowers, with a few white ones, were giving out a comforting fragrant, like a child would feel within a mother's arms. Lilies, peacocks and dairy cows were painted or sculpted onto its walls. A giant peacock feather was painted onto the double door panels.

"Hera's cabin?" Sebastian asked.

"Smart." Emily said with an appraising look. "Like Artemis's cabin, it's an honorary thing. She is the goddess of marriage so no demigod's children. That would be Zeus's job. But believe it or not, Zeus doesn't dare to go flirt with other women now."

"Why? He finally decided to settle down?"

"Not really." Alice answered. "He just doesn't want to get slapped and lectured by Hera, poor Zeus."

"Lecture? I thought Hera had a habit on revenging Zeus's mistresses and their demigod children."

"That's in the past. You do realize that the ancient societies, whether it is Greek or Roman, are very sexist. For a man who cheated on his wife, the girlfriend is always the one who get blamed, even though in many cases, she has no idea that the man has already had a wife or sometimes, the man lied, or worse, raped her." Emily explained.

"Now, the society is progressing, so are the Gods. Therefore, instead of always blaming on the girlfriends and making their children's lives hell, Hera switched to teach the cheating party a lesson, regardless of the gender. And trust me, you won't want to hear Hera lecture you on being faithful to your partner for years. Zeus found this out in the hard way. She lectured him for a whole 10 years and turned him impotence during this entire time." Alice added with a smirk.

"And Zeus did stop having affairs after that, for quite some time. Seeing the efficiency of this new technique, Hera taught this new method to Amphitrite and Persephone, much to Poseidon and Hades's dismay. But to be honest, Poseidon and Hades are more faithful to their wives than Zeus did so they manage to escape from what Zeus had to endure. Hera also stops causing trouble with the children. After all, the children were innocent and every child deserves a loving family. Being the Goddess of family, she also decided to protect them. She still does not approve cheating, but she will leave the innocent parties like the children alone."

"Well… That's a bit new…" Sebastian muttered. Being impotence for 10 years? That thought made him shudder.

**TBC…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When people talked about Disney and Greek myths, many of them will immediately think of "Hercules", but they may have forgotten that "Fantasia" also has Greek myth elements in it. The "Pastoral Symphony" by Beethoven, remember? And I really hope that Grant Gustin will make a cover for some Disney classics in the future.
> 
> Also, the ladies that appeared in this chapter, Felicity, Linda, Lisa, Shawna and Caitlin are all came from "The Flash". Alice is Iris, before you ask me. I have to change her name otherwise she would have the same name with the rainbow goddess, I chose Alice because the pronunciation of the two is similar. And how do you feel me referencing some of the campers' appearances with "The Vampire Diaries" characters like Matt Donovan, Tyler Lockwood and Jeremy Gilbert?
> 
> Sloane is inspired from the novel "Beastly" as well as the movie with the same name. Haven't really watched it, but at least I find the suitable one for playing the bad guy.
> 
> The designs of the cabins were based on Rick Riordan and pictures I found on Google, plus a few of my imagination. I also make some changes for Hera, hope it sounds believable to you.
> 
> Songs/Background music used:
> 
> God Help The Outcasts – Bette Midler  
> -From "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame"
> 
> Reviews are loved.


	5. The Son of the Sky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story is extremely based on "The Lightning Thief". As Sebastian continued his visit of the camp cabins, he met someone that would change the rest of his life.
> 
> This story is NOT for Blaine, Klaine and Finn lovers. OOC is bound to happen. Don't like, don't read. Flames will be thrown into the Pacific Ocean.
> 
> Warning: Nil.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing other than the plot and my own OCs. Emily, Julian and the relationship of Juliper belong to Cacophonylights. Carmichael belongs to my dearest friend, Eraman. Some settings in the story belong to Rick Riordan. I also DO NOT own the songs I used in this story.

Cabin one, the biggest, bulkiest and most vainglorious one. It was built in with marble slabs white as the clouds, blue as the sky at noon and dynamic as the wind. Its columns were twice the thickness than the other cabins; the walls were taller than Hera's cabin, with lightning folks, eagles, bulls and oak trees painted or sculpted on it. The roof and trim were decorated with clouds with all shapes. The brass number one was located in the centre of it with lightning folks striking out in all directions. A huge golden eagle statue, with his wings wide-spread, was erected on the roof top. The door was a double panel one made of the purest gold with silver lightning bolts carved on it.

"The cabin of the lord of the sky." Emily introduced. "With very luxurious designs."

"You know, when Zeus redesigned the cabin, he had this argument with Hera, Athena, Poseidon and Hades." Alice added. "He wanted to make the entire cabin made of gold, but Hera, Athena, Poseidon and Hades disagreed. Hades and Poseidon thought it was unnecessary; Athena said the reflective index, hardness and low specific heat capacity makes gold not to be an ideal building material; Hera told Zeus to think if his child will feel comfortable to live in a house with cold, hard golden house."

"And Zeus whined. Yes, you did not mishear that. Zeus **whined** for months but finally relented to the current design after Hera made him live in a golden house for two month. The result, he couldn't make it through two weeks."

"Zeus is such a drama queen. How come he is not the god of theatre?" Sebastian frowned.

"Who knows?"

"I wonder if his offspring is all like him." Sebastian muttered. What they didn't expect was hearing a reply on their back.

"No, and you do realize that someone lives here, right?"

Emily and Alice spun around while Sebastian jumped. Behind them, stood a young Caucasian man in his mid-twenties with eyes bluer than the finest sapphire. His hair was a beautiful light blond that seemed to shine in the sun. Blond stubbles were growing on his well-defined jaw. He had this king-like aura around him and the physique of a living Adonis like Teddy and William. However, there were some emotions swimming in those blue irises: loneliness, sadness and coldness clouding this handsome face. Sebastian gulped as he looked at the young man. His cheeks started to colour as he saw the well-defined pecs and abs hidden beneath the tight fabric. His heart rate went up and his mouth grew dry.

"Goodness, Skylar. You gave us quiet a scare." Emily said while the young man, Skylar just grumbled.

"Who are you?" He turned to Sebastian.

"Uh…"

"He is the newest camper, Sebastian Smythe." Alice jumped in. "Sebastian, this is Skylar Thawne, son of Zeus."

"Whatever. Now please move, you're blocking my way." The blonde grumbled as he moved passed the trio. He slammed the cabin door close after he got in.

"What's wrong with him?" Sebastian whispered. Alice signalled them to move on.

"Skylar is… well, a bit different from us." Emily said quietly as they got out of hearing range. "He was already there when we first arrived and I thought he is the first year-rounder of the camp, meaning he spends most of the year in the camp. It will be too dangerous for him to step outside the border. Monsters really love to come and challenge him."

"Why?"

"He is the son of Zeus, the king of the Olympian Gods and his demigod aura is very strong, one of the strongest in the camp." Alice added. "And his arrival on camp was also very different from many of us. But that's not my place to tell. Plus, he is a bit antisocial, as you have just seen. Not many of us really talk to him, and that Sloane bitch dared to hit on him, when he turned her down, she called him a freak and bullied him. But after being zapped by his electricity, she didn't dare to do those things again and Skylar has become the only person that Sloane is scared of. Well, I guess she is a bit scared of you too."

She said with a smirk as they reached another cabin with no campers: cabin three.

Cabin three was the longest among all the cabins. Its foundation was made of black basaltic rock and a layer of white sand, coral debris and shells of clams and oysters. Its walls were all made of sea-water blue marble stone slabs, with different habitats of the sea and its residents painted on it: coral reefs, kelp forests, intertidal pools and all kinds of shorelines. The columns were made from trunks of palm trees and coconut trees embarked with jellyfish decorations. The roof was decorated with waves, and instead of a brass number three, a trident was embedded on the roof, with two hippocampi surrounding it. The light blue marble fences were sculpted with fine horses galloping on the waves in a violent storm. Several dolphins were sculpted on the opened door. Like being pulled by an unknown force, Sebastian stepped over the doorsill, ignoring Emily and Alice's gasps.

Immediately, Sebastian smelt the salty scent of the sea, like the gentle breeze when he was on the sea or standing on a beach. The inner walls were coated with a layer of nacre while the darker corners were lit up by the bluish light from bioluminescence marine organisms ranging from tiny crustaceans like krill to large ones like jellyfish, squids, sea cucumbers and fishes. A fountain was located in the centre of the common area. It was made of grey rock decorated with pearls as big as a human palm and colourful corals. A mini trident was erected on the top of the fountain where the water was pouring out.

There was also something in the ceiling catching Sebastian's attention. He looked up and gasped in awe. The ceiling was actually a starry night sky with auroras dancing in it. He also heard somewhere in the room, no, the walls themselves were playing the main theme of one of BBC's most famous and acclaimed documentaries " ** _The Blue Planet_** ", the orchestra and the choir softly hummed out the melody that portrayed the mighty ocean. He could also hear and feel the sound of the sea: the surges welling up from the deep and crashed on a shallow reef; the turbulent and mountainous waves of the endless blue during the most intense wrath of cyclones; the white foams and droplets of seawater dashing in his direction as giant waves pounded on a rugged rocky shore and released their awesome power; the soft touch of spilling waves on a sandy beach; the slow rise of the tide under the gentle light of the full moon; the elegant sway of kelps in the current; colourful creatures dancing in the colourful coral reefs; the gliding of stingrays in the sea; the fast swim of tuna in the open sea; the sound of orcas breathing and a slim sei whale soared up from the deep, opened its mouth wide and got a mouthful of sardines.

"Sebastian!" Alice hissed at the door, snapping the green-eyed boy out of his own world. "Get out of there now! What are you thinking?!"

Confused, Sebastian stepped out of the cabin, feeling a bit down as he did so.

"What?"

"You just don't wander into other cabins! It is disrespectful and you may anger the god who patron the cabin!" Emily said. "It's really lucky you wandered Poseidon's cabin not Artemis's or Hera's. Poseidon is more lenient than the other Olympian gods so he is not gonna punish you."

Because of what happened in cabin three, Alice and Emily just quickly showed how the other cabins looked.

Cabin five was all red, not any shades of red, blood red, from the roof to the foundation, really matching Ares's style. The walls and the columns were worn out from bombs and other weapons which were all piling at the corner. Barbed wire coiled on the roof and a malignant boar head was hanging over the edge while a huge spear with some red liquid dripping off was erected above it. A huge brass number five, coated with blood, was embedded onto the spear. Yells and cries could be heard inside the cabin.

Cabin seven gave out this sunny aura with its yellow painted walls. It was also decorated with figures of lyre and many other musical instruments. Some poems were also sculpted onto the walls. The window frames were decorated with laurel branches. Like cabin eight, a huge bow and arrow were placed on the roof with the brass number seven interlocked in it, except the bow and the arrow were gold in colour instead of silver. The rest of the roof was decorated with golden ravens and Apollo's chariot. Beautiful music and singing rang inside the cabin.

Cabin nine was like a factory doing business covering all light and heavy industries. Long chimneys pointed towards the sky, emitting white smoke which, according to Emily, was free of pollutants and toxic chemicals. A huge forge and a giant hammer, real ones, were placed on the roof. Clangs of metals and roars of flames could be heard through the closed metal door and the metal-framed windows. Sebastian wondered how severe noise pollution and indoor air pollution were inside that cabin. The hygiene was highly unlikely to be good either, judging from the huge pile of junks dumped at the corner.

Finally, cabin eleven, the more "normal" looking cabin among the twelve houses. Its building style was similar to an inn. An antenna was placed on the roof, next to the brick chimney. Its walls were made of marble with a layer of wood cover stuck on it. A small "welcome" sign was hanging on the timber door and camping products were stacked at the corner. The roof was decorated with golden snakes, roosters and tortoises. A huge Caduceus was placed above the brass number eleven while a pair of winged shoes lay beneath the number. A huge board hanged on the wall, listing the date, the head counsellor, those who were on duty and the next major social event.

"Cabin eleven, Hermes's cabin. The place you'll stay for now until you're claimed." Emily said. "Besides Hermes's children, the children of the minor gods and those who had not been claimed by the gods will stay here."

"Minor gods? Why didn't they have a cabin too? And what about Hades? And Hestia?" Sebastian asked.

"The Gods did have some plans for that, but something happened and all the plans were stalled." Alice explained. "It would a long history story telling if you want to know what happened."

"I've got the time."

"Okay, to begin with, in the past, the gods would only send a satyr or a centaur to take the demigod to camp after a case of monster attack had been reported, in most cases the demigod got killed." The African-American began.

"That's horrible…"

"I know, but that changed after a nasty fight involving a child of Demeter." Alice continued. "She was fighting with a horde of monsters which almost caused the demigod's life, typical during that time, but then her sister showed up and also got injured, that's the turning point."

"What's so special with this sister?"

"That sister is not any sister, it is Persephone, the daughter of Demeter. The goddess had grown fond of her half-sister and visited her occasionally. When she heard that a horde of monsters were attacking her sister, she rushed to help and got slashed by the Manticore. Needless to say, Demeter and Hades were furious about that. And under the demand of several goddesses, the Gods all made a new law: All the gods have to send their children to Camp Epineio, under the lead of a satyr or a centaur or both when they reached the age of 12, because that will be the age when the transmutation begins."

"Trans… what?"

"Transmutation." Emily added. "Demigods have different powers because of their godly heritage. A special feature is the powers lie dormant within a demigod before age 13. On the demigod's twelfth birthday, the powers will begin to manifest and an aura distinctive to demigods will be emitted. Their powers will be fully developed by the age of 13. This one year of transiting from a typical human to a heroic demigod is called transmutation. And it is during this one-year time period when monsters sense us and came to challenge us."

"So the new law implemented and the number of demigods in the camp increased dramatically. Yet a new problem appears: there are only twelve cabins in the camp so all the unclaimed demigods were crowded in Cabin 11, Hermes's cabin, since he is the God of travellers. The Gods planned to then decide whether they should claim the unclaimed demigods too but then the First World War and Second World War happened and all the gods' attention was forced to divert. After 30 years of bitter fighting that caused countless loss of lives, the fathers of those who started the catastrophe, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades decided that they should not sire their new demigods anymore because they were just too powerful."

"They planned to swear the vow on River Styx, even though the rest of the gods know that they would not keep the promise forever. Before they could finish the vow, Apollo suddenly delivered a new prophecy, foretelling a series of threats that can unmake the gods, to unmake this calamity, it will require the cooperation between the Gods and the demigods and the most important thing: the union of three demigods from the Big Three. The three gods then change their vows to "Not sire any demigod children within 50 years" as they believe that the threat will not happen in this short period of time. They swore on River Styx and braced themselves to be lectured by their wives when they cheated on them again. The gods then spent their time on recovering the battle-scarred land and the Western civilization that was on the verge to collapse."

"And they really stick to their oath?"

"Nope. 20 years later after they made the vow, Zeus broke his oath and had a baby boy."

"That's Skylar!" Sebastian gasped.

"Indeed. Needless to say, Zeus got slapped and turned impotence by Hera. But before she could start lecture him, he ran and hid in who knows where." "Hera then learnt that Zeus's lover was killed in a car crash due to drunk driving and Skylar became an orphan. None of the baby's maternal relatives wanted to take him in as they all just wanted to get the legacy. As for the baby, they saw him as a burden and the bringer of misfortunate. Taking pity on him, Hera brought him to the camp and raised him up to the age of seven with the help from Hestia and Demeter. He spent his youth in the camp since then."

"Since he is the son of Zeus, the king of the Gods, everyone in the camp believed he would be the one who unite the children of the Big Three and lead the camp over the crisis. Chiron paid most of his attention on taking care and training him. Everyone has great expectation on him."

"That must feel awful for Skylar… Lost his family and suddenly had the world thrown at him…"

"Yeah, I know. Some of us knew it would not be easy for him so we tried to help him but you know the result. He's a hostile to almost everyone, except Cooper, Teddy, William, me, Alice and her friends." Emily said. "And he's incompatible as fire and water with Sloane. Okay, end of story. Let's get in the cabin."

* * *

The cabin door opened before anyone touched it. A young man with crew cut black hair, a pair of stunning blue eyes and a handsome face that also contained some fierceness that reminded Sebastian of those ferocious robbers on the TV shows came out.

"Oh hi, Emily, Alice. What brings you here…" The young man asked before he got his answer as he looked at Sebastian who started blushing.

"Hey, Sebastian! We meet each other again!" A delightful voice rang. The group turned and saw Lisa approaching them.

"Lisa? You know this guy?"

"Met for five minutes. Sebastian, this is Leonard. He's the head counsellor of cabin eleven, Hermes's son and my brother." She introduced.

"Oh, is this the guy who fought the Minotaur and splashed Sloane with the fountain water?" He gasped.

"Lenny! You promised not to shout out those things!" Lisa snapped and suddenly, people were running out of the cabin, trying to get a better look at him.

"Is that him?! Is that him?!"

"I need to kneel and worship him! I have never liked that Sloane slut."

"Quiet! **Get. Inside. NOW!** " Alice jumped in, saving Sebastian from being drowned in embarrassment. "We will tell you once we get inside."

The people cleared a path and the trio got into the comfy common area with sofas, book cases and a huge television connected to a Hi-Fi system, DVD player, Blue-Ray player and several video game players. Emily and Alice sat down on one of the sofas comfortably while Sebastian awkwardly sat down between them. Immediately, the residents of cabin eleven, together with some from other cabins sat down in front of them.

"So what do you guys want to know?" Alice asked casually.

"Does he really fight the Minotaur?"

"I don't want to talk about it…" Sebastian grumbled.

"Aww… Come on… We want to know!"

"Andy, he is not ready to talk about it. Leave it." William scolded. When did he get in?

"William? I thought you are wrestling with your siblings in your cabin."

"I am, but then I saw them." He nodded at Sebastian, Emily and Alice. "I think I may want to say hi to him since I haven't seen him since we brought him in. Teddy wants to come too but his hangover caught on him and he's sleeping on the coach."

"Coach? Not your bed?" Emily teased and everyone in the room snickered while William growled.

"Emily… Don't. I don't feel that way to him."

"Sure, whatever you say." Emily and Alice raised their eyebrows.

"And what about Sloane and the fountain water?" Another girl asked in excitement.

"Yes, that really happened." Alice smirked. "You should have seen her. Her make-up and clothes were ruined. Her skin was burnt like someone had splashed weak acid on her."

"Gods, I would have paid to see her face."

"I hope someone have recorded that down. That will be the most hilarious scene I have ever seen."

"That bitch totally had it coming."

"You rock, young man."

Sebastian was all red, he didn't get praised often. Usually what he got from the Warblers and the New Directions were things like " _That's stupid, it won't work._ ", " _Use your brain instead of your dick!_ ", " _Go fuck yourself, you disgusting sex machine!_ " and " _You are nothing but a bad, corrupted influence._ "

"I think some Aphrodite's children must have recorded it down. Go ask them for the tape. Right now, I need to show our new comer his room. Oh, by the way, is he determined or not?"

"Undetermined."

People groaned.

"Aw, come on! I would love to have him as my brother." Someone groaned, earning nods from a few people. Leonard just rolled his eyes as he grabbed Sebastian's hand and led him away.

"Sorry about them, they all had some black histories with Sloane. She had the worst reputation in the camp and no one loved her, except her gang in her high school." Leonard said as he closed the door, shutting out the noises of the common area. It was until then when Sebastian realised what Alice and Emily meant about the expandable interior size. The corridor lay in front of them was at least 300 metres long, with doors on both sides, but the number of doors was obviously higher in the right than in the left.

"No one has ever complained it to Chiron or Mr. D?"

"They didn't dare to. Sloane was brought to the camp by Aphrodite herself, and because of this, she thought she was far more superior than all of the others in the camp, except Chiron and Mr. D. So seeing someone to make Sloane's ridiculously large ego shrink back to its original size was like hearing they are going to go to Elysium. Well, enough of that bitch. This is the boys' area. The rooms on your left are for Hermes' sons while the ones on the right are for the minor gods and the unclaimed like you." Leonard explained as he took out a key. "This is the key of your room. Your room number is 1490 *****. All rooms are single rooms, all the things you found in a hotel's room, you can also find it. The Wi-Fi password is _HermesTheGreat_ , no space in between."

" _Hermes The Great_ … Really…" Sebastian muttered as they reached his room.

"The Gods are like that. By the way, always remember to lock your door, even when you're just going to shower. Hermes is also the God of thieves. So his children more or less have inherited this trait."

Sebastian's hand went to his pockets, checking if his personal belongings were still there, especially his phone. Luckily, none of his things were stolen.

"And this is your room. Make yourself comfortable." Leonard said as he opened the door. "My room is in the end of the corridor. If you need anything, don't hesitate to tell me."

"Okay…" Sebastian said as he checked his new room. Like what Leonard had said, the room was like the one in a hotel. A single bed with white pillow and white sheet was placed in the middle of the room, between the wardrobe and the night-stand. The TV was put on the wall. A small tea table and a sofa were put at the corner. On his left was the bathroom with all the necessary toiletries. He didn't have any luggage, only the Minotaur horn. He put it on the night stand.

"Come on. It's dinner time soon and you won't want to be late." Leonard led him out and locked the door.

* * *

When they got to the Mess hall, it was already filled with people. All the tables and benches were crowded except the table that Sebastian suspected to be Hera, Poseidon and Artemis'. Skylar was sitting alone in the most left handed table. He looked so lost and lonely.

"Can't we just sit around?"

"You can, but that must be after we made the sacrifice." Leonard explained. "And no one can sit on table 2, 3 and 8."

In the Mess Hall, they were joined by several satyrs, centaurs and nymphs. Mr. D and Chiron were sitting on the long bench. The centaurs were crowding around a table specialized for them as normal tables were way too small and short for them. The satyrs and nymphs were sitting around the long table. Sebastian sat between Leonard and Lisa, with his new made friend, Andy sitting opposite of him. Looking around, they saw Emily sitting together with Caitlin and Felicity on Athena's table. Teddy was sitting with his siblings on Dionysus's table, all of them had this drunk or hangover looks. William was the same, sitting with his siblings who all had large sizes. They either had scars or this nasty look that made people wanted to fight them. Finally, he saw Cooper sitting on Aphrodite's table, with Alice sitting next to him. Sloane was also there. Her neighbour looked like he would rather be anywhere else except sitting next to Sloane.

Chiron pounded his hoof against the marble floor. Everyone quieted and Mr. D got up.

"Good evening, you brats. Just so you know, there is going to be a campfire sing-along tonight after dinner. Don't miss it. And I should tell you that we have a new camper, Sean Smith."

Andy covered his mouth to stifle his laugh.

"Does he always get people's names wrong?" Sebastian frowned.

"Always indeed. He once miscalled Sloane ' _slut_ ' and my brother Desmond ' _Sexmond_ '." Andy smirked and Sebastian felt a new found respect for the wine god, even though he might have miscalled Sloane by mistake.

"Sebastian Smythe." The wine god corrected himself after being notified by Chiron. The campers applauded while Sloane hissed.

"Can we start having dinner now? I'm hungry." Dionysus groaned as he sat back down.

All kinds of food appeared on the table. People spoke to their glasses and immediately the glass got filled with different kinds of drink. Sebastian conjured a cup of chocolate and cream, like the one his brother made in summer. Chiron raised his cup.

"To the Gods."

"To the Gods." Repeated everybody as they cut a small fraction of their food and tossed it into the hearth.

"What's that for?"

"An offering to the Gods. You can make a wish to them as well." Leonard explained. He cut off a corner of his steak and tossed it into the flames.

"Lord Hermes." He whispered as he bowed.

It was Sebastian's turn, he picked one of his chicken wings and threw it into the flames. But he couldn't think of a name to say. As the chicken wing slowly reduced to charcoal, he whispered a prayer.

_"_ _Whoever you are, please help my brother. I have nothing to ask for myself, but my brother has suffered so much, please help him."_

For the rest of the dinner, people started sitting randomly. Sebastian caught Leonard smooching with a handsome guy from Apollo cabin with short light brown hair and a pair of stunning blue eyes like him. Turning around, he saw Andy cuddling with another guy with brown hair and a pair of beautiful bluish grey eyes. He was wondering where he should sit when he heard the voice of the person he wanted to see least.

"Wondering where you can sit? Asshole."

Rolling his eyes, Sebastian ignored her.

"Hey, I'm talking to you, freak. Are you deaf?"

Sebastian closed his eyes, it's not worth wasting his energy to fight with this bitch. He had ignored the hurtful comments from Kurt, Santana, New Directions and some Warblers. He could make it without blowing up.

"Still ignoring me? I wonder-"

"Sloane. Shouldn't you be somewhere else?" Alice's annoyed sound appeared.

"And what does that have to do with you? You-"

The bitch's retort was cut short when Felicity, Caitlin, Linda, Lisa, Shawna and Emily appeared with an angered look.

"Finish that sentence if you dare, bitch." Shawna hissed.

"And who do you think you are? What makes you think that you can command me?"

"That's enough." A new voice appeared and Sloane paled.

"You will leave them alone, or I don't mind give you a new hairstyle with this." Skylar raised his hand, which was already cackling with electricity.

"Fine, you win!" The slut hissed and stormed away. Sebastian muttered a " ** _thank you_** " quietly but then someone grabbed onto his arm.

"Don't have a seat?" Skylar asked, the girls had left without them noticing.

"Uhm… Yeah?"

"You can sit on my table, if you like."

"Huh? Oh, thanks." Sebastian felt his face started to heat up as he sat down on table one, ignoring the stares he got and the smirks from Alice, Felicity, Caitlin, Linda, Shawna, Lisa, Emily and the girls from Aphrodite's cabin. But when Sebastian wanted to talk to Skylar, the older demigod would just ignore him. The blonde was confused too, he was not sure why he could voluntarily invite a boy that he had known less than 30 minutes to sit by his table. Utterly confused and frustrated of his inner turmoil, he ignored the green-eyed boy's attempts to talk with him and looked away. Sighing in defeat and confusion, Sebastian turned around and saw many campers were looking at him, apparently Skylar had never invited somebody to sit with him. Ignoring them, Sebastian noticed that Cooper was barely eating, only staring at his mobile with a sad look. Feeling his gaze, the older Anderson looked up and immediately put his phone away and looked at the other direction.

Later, during the sing-along session led by Apollo's cabin since they were natural musicians, they sang and danced around the camp fire, singing songs about the Gods and those that praised the nature. Aiming to keep a low profile, Sebastian mostly stayed in the distance, not wanting anyone to find out how good a singer he was.

* * *

When they finally got back to their respective rooms, it was almost midnight and Sebastian didn't even know how tired he was until he lay down onto the soft mattress.

" _Well, I make it through the first day without causing any trouble._ " Sebastian thought as he lay on his bed, with silk sheet and soft mattress. " _I wonder what my future will be, but at least I don't need to act like a jerk._ "

But before he fell asleep, Sebastian suddenly remembered something, something very important.

He forgot to call Hunter.

Oh man, he must be worried sick. And when he called him, he's gonna be pissed…

Taking out his phone, he was scrolling through his contact list when he saw his brother's name.

"Jules… I will find you, I swear." He muttered as he opened the message box. Reading all the messages his brother sent him, he felt his tears rose again.

"Brother… I miss you… Brother…"

He stayed up much later than the rest of the campers, and when he finally fell asleep, he cried to sleep.

**TBC…**

 

**The background music of Poseidon's cabin is based on this video on YouTube:

#  The Blue Planet Live!

[Please click me for better understanding! :)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvFdI8Fz_cs)

And this is the full version of the song:

#  The Blue Planet - George Fenton

[Please click me! :)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPwtPq6Lt4E)

*Based on Grant Gustin's birthday: 14, January, 1990.

Songs/Background music used:

The Blue Planet – George Fenton  
-From "The Blue Planet" by BBC

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The designs of the cabins were based on Rick Riordan and pictures I found on Google, plus a few of my imagination. And here comes Detective Pretty Boy from "The Flash". :P
> 
>  
> 
> Coming up: Sebastian finally called Hunter, some shouting and will include some mocking to Klaine and some of the reactions from Klainers (So if you ship Klaine, please kindly leave, you have been warned. If you dare to flame me, you're just showing the world how uneducated you are.). Then, it's quest time.
> 
> Reviews are loved.
> 
> Answers to readers' review:


	6. Go On A Quest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story is extremely based on "The Lightning Thief". Some Glee stuff in this chapter, Sebastian finally called Hunter to know what the Warblers and the New Directions were doing. Then something happened he was picked to go on a quest led by Skylar.
> 
> This story is NOT for Blaine, Klaine and Finn lovers. OOC is bound to happen. Don't like, don't read. Flames will be thrown into the Pacific Ocean.
> 
> Warning: Klaine bashing and mocking of some Klaine fans. (Yeah, I'm so sick and disgusted of those savages who cyberbullied and sent death threats to actors and people who didn't ship their "precious" Klaine and then disguised themselves as an ally of LGBTQs. What a perfect illustration of double-standard and hypocrisy.)
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing other than the plot and my own OCs. Emily, Julian and the relationship of Juliper belong to Cacophonylights. Carmichael belongs to my dearest friend, Eraman. Some settings in the story belong to Rick Riordan. I also DO NOT own the songs I used in this story.

" _Okay… Relax, Sebastian. You can do this. He's not gonna eat you._ " Sebastian muttered as he looked at his mobile phone, that he placed on his night-stand. For the past two weeks, he had been very busy in adapting the camp and it proved to be very tiring. While the camp had its leisure and relaxing side, it could also turn as demanding and serious as military training. The first week was exhausting and he spent most of his free time sleeping. Therefore, his planned call to Hunter had been postponed to today.

Taking a deep breath, he dialled the number with shaky hands and sweating forehead.

_"_ _Hello?"_

Oh Gods, please save him!

_"_ _Hello? Who is this?"_

"Hun… Hunter?" Sebastian stuttered. The phone went silence for a few seconds.

_"_ _Sebastian?"_

"Uhm… Yeah, it's me."

_"_ _So… You finally decided to call me…"_

"Uhm…"

 _"_ _How long have you been to that camp?"_ Hunter's normally calm voice sounded more forced, as if he was restraining himself from shouting.

"Two… two weeks…"

 _"_ _Two weeks…_ _ **two weeks… TWO WEEKS!**_ _"_ Hunter was really shouting now. Sebastian winced and pulled the phone away from his ears.

_"_ _**DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRY PRINCIPAL CARMICHAEL, LIZA AND I HAVE BEEN?! SUE INFORMED US THAT SHE AND HER SISTERS HAD BROUGHT YOU TO NEW YORK SAFELY BUT THEN NO ONE GAVE US A RING! WE TRIED YOUR PHONE, NO ONE ANSWERD; WE TRIED COOPER'S PHONE, NO ONE ANSWERED! FINALLY, WE CALLED THE CAMP, AND GUESS WHAT WE HEARD? YOU ARE IN A FREAKING COMA! YOUR BROTHER IS INJURED BY A MONSTER! A MINOTAUR FOR FUCK'S SAKE! DO YOU KNOW HOW WORRIED WE ARE? LIZA CRIED! PRINCIPAL CARMICHAEL AND I COULD HARDLY SLEEP!"** _

"Hunt! I'm fine! I'm calling you now! I'm so exhausted for the first week and I was sleeping when I was not occupied with training!" Sebastian cut his best friend off, knowing that he would go on forever if he didn't stop him. Hunter grumbled but stopped his rant.

 _"_ _Just wait until I tell Liza and Carmichael you called."_ Hunter muttered. _"And how is your brother doing?"_

"He… He disappeared…" Sebastian whispered.

_"_ _I beg your pardon?"_

"After he got stabbed by the Minotaur, a golden light engulfed him and he disappeared." Sebastian explained. "I don't know where he is."

_"_ _I'm sorry to hear that."_

"But at least I'm safe… he wants me to be safe." Sebastian whispered.

 _"_ _Hunter? Who is it?"_ A new voice rang on the other end and Sebastian paled.

 _"_ _Oh, just from the one who finally remembered to call us: Sebastian Smythe."_ He swore that he could see the smirk on Hunter's face.

_"_ _**WHAT? GIVE ME THE PHONE! NOW!** _ _"_

_"_ _Well, I'm leaving you on the speaker then."_

Cue the screams and shouts from the worried sick Liza and Carmichael.

Cue the apologies from Sebastian.

 _"_ _So you have been doing fine in the camp?"_ Carmichael asked after a long session of talk.

"Yeah, a bit tiring, but I'm getting better. I made a few friends too."

 _"_ _Good. You really need more friends other than Hunter, no offense. You need to know that you are not that alone as you think."_ Liza said kindly. She and Carmichael knew that due to his experience in the past, all those bullying and betrayals, the young man never believed in friendship. Besides Carmichael, Liza, Hunter and his brother, no one would want to befriend him and those who claimed to be his friends always wanted something from him. The principal and the secretary had tried their best to change Sebastian's belief but it was easier said than done, and all the rivalries between him and the NDs and the rest of the Warblers were offering no help either.

"Maybe… But sometimes I'm not that sure… and I had a weird dream last night."

 _"_ _What is it?"_ Hunter asked and Sebastian remembered the vivid dream he had last night.

* * *

**FLASHBACK**

**_It was dark, not the fuzzy darkness when you turned the lights off at night, but a complete darkness like you had descended to the bottom of the Pacific where no sunlight could pass through. Sebastian had no idea where he was or how long he had been wandering in this place. He only had one thing in mind: Get out of this place! He ran around, but this dark plane seemed to be stretched to the end of time. No matter where he went, he would always come back to the starting point._ **

**_After an unknown amount of time, Sebastian finally saw a light, however, he was not sure if it meant a friendly note. This light was red, like the eyes of Satan's worst monsters. Suppressing a shiver running down his spine, he quietly walked towards the light source which turned out to come out from a room lit by multiple floating candles, all were burning this terrifying red light. The door was wide opened so Sebastian did what a person normally did: he peeked…_ **

**_In the middle of the room lay a person sleeping on a bed, the ink-black sheet was covered up to his waist. Another man was standing next to the bed, looking at the sleeping form. And the one who was sleeping was…_ **

**_Sebastian gasped._ **

**_It was his brother Julian, peacefully sleeping on the bed, his injured arm and chest were bandaged carefully. Sebastian wanted to run to his brother side but found himself froze. The man turned around and looked at him._ **

**_"_ ** **_I have healed your brother's wounds. His fate now lies on you. Whether he stayed in the underworld or return to the mortal world with you solely depends on your actions. Retrieve what are stolen and your brother shall return to you. If not, he will stay here forever. I am watching you, nephew." The man said in a haunting tone._ **

**_"_ ** **_Prove yourself to me and the Gods that you are the one, Sebastian Smythe."_ **

**_With a gasp, Sebastian woke._ **

**END OF FLASHBACK**

* * *

Hunter, Carmichael and Liza said nothing after Sebastian told them about his dream.

 _"_ _I'm not sure what it actually means, or if the God in the dream is really Lord Hades. And I'm not sure if you should believe that dream."_ Carmichael said.

"But… but if that's true, then it means my brother is still alive, right? Right?" Sebastian asked in a hopeful voice.

 _"_ _You really need to consult Chiron about this, Sebastian. We are, after all, just mortals. We don't really know how the Greek world functions."_ Liza sighed.

"I see…" Sebastian looked lost.

" _Well, we have some works to finish. Liza and I will leave you guys some time alone."_ Carmichael said.

"So, how are the New Directions and the Warblers doing?" Sebastian asked as he sat down on his bed. "I bet they are very happy that I'm gone, right?"

 _"_ _Not exactly."_ Hunter answered. _"A few days after you left, Kurt and Blaine got into a huge fight. It turns out that Blaine had been seeing someone else for several weeks. You know that Kurt and his goons, that Rachel, Santana, etc. etc. have been searching houses in New York, you know, places that they stay when they left for New York after this semester. As a result, according to the Blaine stans of the glee club, Kurt neglects their precious Blaine. Therefore, he went on Facebook, saw someone match his taste, and they hooked up, multiple times, may I add."_

"Blaine cheats? I'm shocked." Sebastian said sarcastically. "I have known from the beginning that Klaine is bounded to fail, I just don't know that it will end this soon. And everyone blamed that on me, I believe."

_"_ _Kurt blames you, obviously. He accused you corrupting 'his' Blaine into a cheater."_

"Hah, corrupted." Sebastian snorted. "He sounds exactly like the blasted Andersons, blaming my brother for corrupting their 'precious', 'normal' Cooper. What about the others?"

_"_ _The New Directions were a bit torn after hearing the words of their fight. A few blamed you but many of them blamed Kurt instead. They accused him of neglecting Blaine. According to them, Blaine needs Kurt and he is not there for him and thus his cheating act should be forgiven."_

"Bullshit!"

_"_ _My word and my thought exactly. I know that Blaine is an attention seeking whore but I don't even know when he manages to get the majority of NDs and the Warblers to back him up. Some of them even went as far as harassing that Eli guy online, even sending death threats to him."_

"And they said they aren't bullies like that Dave Karofsky… Yet they are cyberbullying a guy online, even going as far as threatening to kill him. They are really the walking definition of hypocrites."

_"_ _And guess what they brought up to defend Blaine's cheating? The Chandler fiasco, they said Kurt has been cheating with Chandler so he has no right to accuse Blaine's act."_

"Pah, as if Blaine hasn't replied my 'family-friendly' text with something far worse, even I got uncomfortable by his words. It's like xTube, RedTube and Playboy combined, not to mention he started texting me with flirtatious works way before Kurt even knew Chandler and with no sense of discomfort, no mention of his boyfriend during that whole time. I sent him the text, and he replied with something a hundred-fold flirtier."

_"_ _Eww, dude, TMI, TMI, I have no desire to know what B-leech's perverted mind has in store."_

"Can we stop talking about that B-leech Anderson?"

_"_ _That would be very difficult, since he has pretty much become the centre of the New Directions. Everything is about him, the world revolved around him. He got 90% of the solos, got a main cast in their school play, had a say in virtually everything in_ _**both** _ _the New Directions and the Warblers, Zeus almighty, even that Berry girl didn't have such kind of privilege. And she was the founding member of the club, remember. Unlike someone who just wandered himself in and immediately got everything he wanted by just opening his mouth and stretching out his hand."_

"Oh man, RIP, New Directions. I just hope that they didn't drag the Warblers to the coffin with them. What about Regionals? It's just several days away now, how have the two choir groups preparing?"

_"_ _I'm not sure about the NDs and I honestly don't care, the Warblers, on the other hand, are doing Whistles and-"_

_"_ _Hunter, who are you talking to?"_ A new voice rang in the phone.

_"_ _Who can that be? It must the culprit of Klaine's breakup, Sebastian Smythe. Hunter only befriends assholes."_

Sebastian growled, no one treated his friends and family bad.

_"_ _Tell the slut that if he is happy now, Kurt and Blaine have just broken up. You have the chance to bang him."_

A few snickers rang in the background and Sebastian's hands were trembling with rage.

"I have no desire to touch that piece of shit. Speaking of which, why don't **y'all** take an advantage to this situation? After all, you guys are more than happy to kiss Blaine's ass and licked the ground he walked. Now shoo." Sebastian snapped into the phone, making sure everyone in the background could hear it clearly.

 _"_ _They're gonna be pissed."_ Hunter's voice was amused as they heard some scowls in the background.

"Let them come, like hell will I fear them." Sebastian was cut off when someone knocked on his door.

 ** _"_** ** _Sebastian? Are you in there?"_** Leonard asked outside the door.

"Yeah, just a moment!" Sebastian replied and returned to the phone. "Well, I need to go. Call you later then and let's hope I can meet you after Regionals."

 _"_ _We'll see if that can be arranged."_ Hunter said. _"Have you got claimed yet? Like a God's symbol appeared around you?"_

"I don't remember anything like that happened."

_"_ _Wow, the Gods are smart. Claiming a demigod would be a bad idea for now."_

"Why? What happened?"

 ** _"_** ** _Sebastian!"_** Leonard called again.

"Just a minute! What happened? What's wrong with the Gods?"

_"_ _I'm not very sure and I can't say too much or I'll be leaking the mysteries of heaven but the Gods seemed to have a very fierce argument recently, for what, I don't know. But still, I'm eager to see the faces of the demigods in New Directions and the Warblers when they know your heritage. It would be priceless."_

"Whatever, but I really need to go now. Talk later, okay? Bye!" Sebastian ended the call and ran to the door. Leonard was standing by the door, looking rather impatiently.

"You finally opened the door. Chiron wants to see you."

* * *

As the two walked their way to the Big House, Sebastian had noticed something strange: the weather. The sun was nowhere to be seen, even it was about noon. Thick layers of clouds were rolling and churning in the heaven, flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder could be heard in a distant. Several minutes later, a downpour started and people shouted in surprise as they ran for cover. It rarely rained at the camp, unless it was during special training sessions. Leonard took out an umbrella that Sebastian suspected was stolen from somewhere else.

"Why on earth does Chiron wants to see me?" Sebastian asked.

"I'm not sure, but I have overheard some rumours that someone had managed to sneak into Olympus two weeks ago and stolen Zeus's lightning bolt."

"The what?!"

"The lightning bolt, like the one that you saw in Fantasia, only packed with lethal power than can make mortal's atomic bombs look like a soap bubble busting."

"And it was stolen…"

"Yes."

"Zeus's gonna flip his shit, but what does that have to do with me?"

"Initially, we just want to see Skylar going on a quest. Quest offering is very rare and a size big like this is rarest of the rare and completing it will bring countless honour. And since Skylar is the one in the prophecy, he will obviously take the lead so the rest of the camp wanted to be his companion so they could share the honour and get closer to the son of Zeus. He is, after all, very good looking and charming and can be nice after he considers you as a friend."

"It sounds like you have a crush on him."

"And it sounds like you're jealous of me knowing these facts." Leonard said and Sebastian felt himself blushed. Smirking, the son of Hermes continued. "If you really think of him that way, good luck, because even though he swings both way, it is extremely difficult to get into his heart."

Sebastian looked away, trying to press down his blush and the tingling sense in his stomach.

"And before anyone of us go on a quest, we need to consult the Oracle of Delphi. Skylar did that but one line was particularly confusing. It said ' ** _Success or fail lies on the shoulder of the unclaimed._** ' You know how many of us are unclaimed in the camp. This line led to much excitement to them because you know, it's an honour. We were discussing about this unclaimed demigod when dad suddenly showed up, he told me to bring you to the Big House too but refused to say why and who give that order before he flashed away."

"Oh great, just great…" Sebastian grumbled.

* * *

A group of people have already been crowding around the house, eagerly waiting Skylar to pick them as his companions. Leonard knocked on the door and Chiron opened it.

"Ah, you're here. Come in." The centaur said and Sebastian turned to look at Leonard.

"What about him?"

"I can't go in. It's not my quest and no Gods have requested my presence." Leonard explained. "I'll just wait outside."

Frowning, Sebastian got into the room and saw Skylar was there sitting by the table. Dionysus, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Mr. D?" Sebastian asked.

"He's off to Olympus. Hermes told him that there was an emergency meeting." Chiron explained. "Now, take a sit please."

Sebastian sat down next to Skylar who was still not looking at him.

"Sebastian, I think Leonard has already told you why you're here, right?"

Sebastian nodded.

"As you know that Skylar is going on a quest soon, but Hermes has specifically mentioned that you must be a part of the quest too."

"Oh how wonderful. So that ' _unclaimed demigod_ ' is me, right?

"Now, do you accept the quest?"

"The quest… Does it have something to do with Zeus's bolt?" Sebastian asked and Chiron sighed deeply.

"I'm afraid so. Lord Zeus and Lord Poseidon have been fighting for a month. You must have noticed that how abnormal frequent the natural disasters are recently, like cyclones striking places that seldom experienced one like the South Atlantic; huge hurricanes spreading thousands of miles across struck in late autumn; typhoons with ferocity much greater than the world had ever seen; droughts, floods and diseases lingering among different corners of the world."

"I remembered that. The news said that these phenomena are related to global warming."

"Indeed. They were all because of global warming and all kinds of pollutions." Chiron explained. "The pollutants and greenhouse gases from the mortal world are also contaminating the air that the Gods breathe and slowly heating up their environment. Just like a person tends to get grumpy in a hot and highly polluted area, the Gods, especially the two that get the direct hit, Zeus and Poseidon, get angry more frequently. Slowly, the foul mood also affects other Gods and when that happened, disasters like droughts, floods, famines and epidemics occurred."

"But this fight is different, right? Because I'm sure that this storm is definitely not a product created by a grumpy sky god." Sebastian pointed at the raging storm outside.

"That's the most disturbing part. Last month, the angry situation got worse and words of Zeus and Poseidon were fighting began to spread like a wild fire. In the beginning, I sincerely hoped to the Fates that it was just a rumour and Zeus was nagging Poseidon with some typical nonsense like who is Lady Rhea's favourite child when, well, everyone knows that Rhea loves all her children equally, or which domain is more beautiful and dynamic. But alas, Zeus is actually accusing Poseidon of stealing his thunderbolt which had gone missing last month. In most of the cases, Poseidon will just ignore his brother but being wronged with this accusation really offended the sea god and the problem is the sea god is too proud to convince Zeus otherwise."

"Can Gods really steal each other's things?"

"They are forbidden to do so, but the demigods can. And somehow, Zeus believed that the newest camper would be the thief who works for his brother."

Sebastian felt his mouth dropped.

"Zeus is accusing **_me_** of stealing his bolt?" Sebastian pointed a finger at himself. "And he is assuming that I am working for the sea god? Is he out of his mind? I don't even know that Greek myths are real just two weeks ago. For Gods' sake, I don't even know where the modern Olympus is!"

"Actually you have been there, or at least you're roaming beneath it." Chiron said. "Remember you have told us that you went to the Empire State Building for sight-seeing with your brother a few years ago? That's where the Olympus is. Of course you don't know it is there at that time or how to get there but Zeus apparently neglected all these things."

"So just because I have been to the view point of Empire State Building and Zeus believed that I have been to Olympus?"

"That would be the case, and Zeus believed that Poseidon had bribed you into helping him so he could usurp his throne, that's what he concluded."

"Is Zeus really that dumb?" Sebastian asked, ignoring the thunders cracking outside. "Is his mind entirely made of clouds instead of common senses? Because his reasons are completely stupid. I mean seriously, a kindergarten student can make up better reasons than him. Besides, isn't that Zeus's own responsibility to look after his own belongings? And now, he lost that stupid bolt and started blaming someone next to him and pointing an accusing finger at some random guy? How mature is he?"

"Dad's not gonna like his bolt being called stupid." Skylar deadpanned just as a violent thunder boomed outside the window, filling the air with the smell of ozone.

"What a drama queen…" Sebastian grumbled.

"So do you agree going on this quest?"

"Ugh, whatever… As long as I can prove my innocence and shut Zeus the drama queen up…" Sebastian grumbled.

"Good, since it is Zeus's business, we think it is right for us to send Skylar on this quest. Before we tell you the prophecy, Sebastian, swear on River Styx that you won't tell the others, excluding your quest companions about it. Leaking a mystery of heaven is a very terrible act and the result will be very terrible too."

"Okay, I swear."

"Swear it on River Styx, like how I taught you."

"In the name of River Styx, I swear that I won't tell anyone outside this room, excluding my quest companions about the prophecy."

Thunder rumbled, activating the oath.

"Good, so the prophecy, the exact words, are:

**_You shall go west and retrieved what were stolen.  
_ ** **_The god who turned shall fight with you on the doorstep of underworld.  
_ ** **_Success or fail lies on the shoulder of the unclaimed.  
_ ** ****_The traitor shall reveal in the celebration._

And now, I believe you will need to get yourself ready." Chiron said in a more cheerful tone.

Suddenly, a hissing sound rang from the stairs and the three occupants spun around. Right on the stairs leading to the attic, stood a woman, a corpse of a woman to be exact, her eyes was milky white and the normal light of life was absent. The strangest thing of all was a thick layer of green mist surrounding her.

"Oh Styx, this is getting ugly…" Chiron whispered in an extremely nervous tone.

The corpse kept walking until she was standing in front of them her eyes looking right at Sebastian. Gulping in nervousness and slight fear, he looked at Skylar and Chiron for help. Suddenly, a dense green smoke spewed out from her mouth as she said in a hissing voice.

_"_ _I am the spirit of Delphi; the speaker of prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Phtyon. Come forward, seeker. Ask…"_

Saying nothing, the son of the sky god stood up and walked to the stairs that led to the attic, with Sebastian hurried after him. A dozens flights of stairs after, they faced a trapdoor. Skylar turned to look at the younger demigod.

"Okay, now what?" Sebastian asked, not knowing what to do.

"That's obvious. She's looking right at you, just ask." Chiron whispered.

Gathering his courage, Sebastian approached the Oracle. However, he really had no idea of what he had to ask, or maybe he had too many questions that he couldn't pick on. Sighing, he voiced out what had just crossed his mind.

"O Oracle, what will be my path in future."

He was really expecting that the Oracle would reply him, therefore he was really shocked when he saw the green fog surrounding the Oracle thickened and gradually shaped into five people: Principal Carmichael, Liza King, Hunter, Cooper and finally… Julian.

Carmichael came forward and spoke in a voice he used to comfort him whenever Sebastian was feeling down.

**_Cold mask shall be casted away._ **

Liza approached and gently touched his face.

**_Warmth shall again run through the dry courses._ **

Hunter patted on his shoulder like he always did.

**_True power shall be shown._ **

Cooper and Julian walked towards him together.

**_For a phoenix cannot hide his real colours.  
_ ** **_And what kindness done in the past shall be repaid._ **

The five people lost their shapes as the green smoke flowed back into the Oracle. Wobbling, she was going to collapse but Chiron was faster. Calling Skylar to help him put her back to her place in the attic, Chiron also ordered Sebastian to get himself prepared and picked a companion for the quest.

The reaction of the campers learnt that Sebastian was going on a quest with Skylar was different. Those who knew Sebastian like his friends were happy for him. Emily, Cooper, Teddy and William, on the other hand, were a worried for him. It's not that Sebastian's a bad fighter. In contrast, Sebastian just proved himself to the camp that he was one of the best fighters when it came to swords, whether it was a single sword or a twin swords, he was as good as or even better than some of the greatest heroes in history like Hercules, Perseus, Theseus and Achilles. Therefore, it was not his skills that worried them, but the lack of experience in real-life fighting for Sebastian. Sure, the harpy and the Minotaur were real challenges but compared to hellhounds and pit scorpions, these two monsters were just on novices' level.

The others campers looked envious about Sebastian and of course, Sloane was absolutely jealous and kept on bad-mouthing Sebastian. But a punch from the girls was enough to shut her up. Now, she was glaring at the end of the group with two black eyes.

"So choose, Skylar Thawne, son of Zeus. Who will be your companion on this quest?" Chiron asked.

"I choose Cisco Valdes, son of Hephaestus." Skylar said solemnly. Excited whispers rang within Cabin nine as a young person with shoulder-length straight black hair and a pair of black eyes stood up.

"And what about you? Sebastian Smythe, son of the unclaimed, who will you choose?"

"I… I will choose…" Sebastian stuttered as he tried to find someone he could trust. His eyes roamed around friends and finally managed to make a decision. "I will choose Caitlin… Caitlin Frost."

Immediately, the said demigod got to her feet. She and her friends were giving Sebastian an encouraging smile.

"Okay. So Cisco Valdes, son of Hephaestus, and Caitlin Frost, daughter of Athena, are you willing to accompany these two demigods on their quest and help with all you can?"

"Yes Chiron." Caitlin informed confidently.

"It will be an honour." Cisco grinned as lightning flashed again, together with violent thunder cracking.

"Excellent." Chiron nodded. "We can take you at most to the bus terminal in Manhattan. After that, you are on your own. May the Gods bless you and may the Fates treats you with kindness."

Skylar, Cisco and Caitlin bowed. Sebastian quickly followed.

"No time to waste. You should all get packing now. You have at most 1 hour." Chiron informed.

Packing was not a difficult task for Sebastian, considered how "many" things he had brought to the camp. Leonard had helped him packed things like toiletries, clothes and some ambrosia and nectar just in case. Leonard himself also offered some cash, both US dollars and golden Greek coins called Drachmas with the head of the Olympians, mostly Zeus, printed on it. He claimed the money was lent by the camp store but Sebastian had a feeling that Leonard just swiped them directly from the cashiers without asking. He was, after all, a son of Hermes, the God of thieves. Like father, like son.

As he was waiting Skylar, Cisco and Caitlin to show up, Chiron appeared next to him.

"I almost forgot this. You're gonna need this." The centaur said as he handed the demigod a correction tape which turned into a sword when being clicked. The sword itself was similar to the one that Sebastian had brought to the camp. They had the same shape, same length and same weight, with different carvings.

"You know the basics and the protocol: Never attack a mortal with weapons like these. And you should beware that demigods like you are twice as vulnerable because both mortal and monsters could hurt you."

Sebastian nodded.

"And a reminder, the correction tape will always reappear in your pocket. I think the same goes to your own sword too." Chiron said, rubbing his chin.

Sebastian decided to give it a try and dropped his own pen into the river and tossed the correction tape as far as he could. Seconds later, he checked his pocket and found the two stationery were there.

"That will be really helpful." Sebastian said as his other companions showed up.

"Argus will be waiting at the bottom of the hill and he would drive you to the bus terminal. And heroes, just relax. Yes, you are doing your best to prevent the biggest war in recent history but being nervous will do you no good. Relax and keep a clear head."

The four demigods nodded and bowed. When they got to the bottom of the hill where Argus was waiting them by a car, Sebastian looked back and saw Chiron standing by the door, giving them the blessings that they needed. Getting in the car, Argus drove the four demigods back to New York City. The mission was on, and what the Fates had planned for them, was as mysterious as always. But one thing is sure: it would be far from a smooth and easy course.

**TBC…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have brought Cisco into the story and the S.T.A.R. Labs trio is completed now! Hurray! But just so you know, there WON'T be a Hartmon romance. I ship them but Hartley was already in a steady relationship with his boyfriend Michael here as Andy, so Cisco will be paired up with another person. From next chapter onward, I will try to include more elements from Glee. Beware of the bashing of some characters though, I'm in no mood to deal with their bullshits.
> 
> Songs/Background music used:
> 
> Reviews are loved.


	7. The Strange Couple in the Dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is NOT for Blaine, Klaine and Finn lovers. OOC is bound to happen. Don't like, don't read. Flames will be thrown into the Pacific Ocean.
> 
> Warning: Violence.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing other than the plot and my own OCs. Emily, Julian and the relationship of Juliper belong to Cacophonylights. Carmichael belongs to my dearest friend, Eraman. Some settings in the story belong to Rick Riordan. I also DO NOT own the songs I used in this story.

No one spoke anything during the whole drive, Skylar had told Cisco and Caitlin his prophecy. Sebastian, on the other hand, decided not to tell them about his prophecy because it didn't seem to be related to the quest at all. Cisco tried to talk to Sebastian but the green-eyed demigod was not ready to open up his heart. The son of Hephaestus must have realised that too because he stopped asking him questions and took out his own invented mobile phone and started playing songs, at a specific frequency that only demigods would be able to hear. The song he played, however, was a bit different from what Sebastian had been expected.

**_I have often dreamed of a far-off place  
_ ** **_Where a hero's welcome would be waiting for me  
_ ** **_Where the crowds will cheer when they see my face  
_ ** **_And a voice keeps saying:  
_ ** ****_This is where I'm meant to be_

"This song? I think the Gods hate **_'Hercules'_**." Sebastian asked, raising his eyebrow.

"They are." Cisco said. "But just because they hated the movie's writing doesn't mean they hated music too."

"And Cisco hoped that someone will sing this song for him someday in the future." Caitlin teased as Cisco turned a bright red colour.

"Shut up!" He hissed. Caitlin just laughed while Skylar rolled his eyes.

"Sometimes I just wonder if Alan Menken is a long lost son of Apollo. I mean he is such a legend." Sebastian said quietly.

"Alan Menken is not a demigod." Caitlin replied. "But if I remembered correctly, he is a legacy of Apollo. In fact, many of the well-known composers like Andrew Lloyd-Webber, James Horner, Stephen Schwartz, Jerry Herman and Richard Rodgers are all legacies of Apollo, and they all made Apollo proud of himself."

**_I'll be there someday,  
_ ** **_I can go the distance  
_ ** **_I will find my way  
_ ** ****_If I can be strong_

Listening to music was good, to masterpiece composed by genius like Alan Menken was even better. It allowed Sebastian to relax and loosen up so his brain was not too haywire to his troubles. It also helped him sleep more peacefully, just like now.

**_I know every mile  
_ ** **_Will be worth my while  
_ ** **_When I go the distance,  
_ ** ****_I'll be right where I belong_

Gradually, Sebastian felt himself drifting away from the conscious world. He slumped against the window and felt asleep. It was comfortable at first, no disturbance, no nightmares, and no angry dreams about his confrontations with a certain group of idiots. But then, he heard someone, someone was calling him.

_Sebastian Smythe… Sebastian Smythe…_

Who was calling him? Sebastian opened his eyes and found himself not sitting in the bus. In contrary, he was now in a deep blue environment

_Sebastian Smythe… Sebastian Smythe…_

He heard the voice again, this time it was closer. He looked around, searching for the source.

_Sebastian…_

"Sebastian…" The voice was now behind him. He spun around and saw a man in his middle age standing in front of him. And it was really in front of him, nose touching nose. With a yelp, Sebastian swung his hand and smacked hard on the man's face. The man cried in pain and fell to the ground as a woman rushed to his help. She bit on her lips, her face contorted like she was having a gas pain.

"Ow! No need for the violence, young one. You're just so much like your father." The man rubbed his nose as his wife was trying hard to not to laugh but failed miserably.

"Sweetie, you did the same when mother checked on you." She giggled. "What is the term the mortals use to describe this? Ah yes, like father, like son. And since the nephew shares similar behaviour with his uncle ***** , it was totally expected. And how true these terms are! Same power, same behaviour!"

She started laughing again as her husband groaned. Her laughing voice reminded Sebastian something when he was young.

"It was you!" Sebastian gasped. "You're the couple living on our next door who looked after Julian and me when he was sick; the one who gave me all those blue sweets!"

"Ah, so you remembered us. I'm so happy and moved!" The woman said in delight as she ruffled Sebastian's brown hair fondly.

"It has been years since we last saw you, young hero." The man nodded, looking proud of him. "Tell us what happened."

And he told them. He expected them to freak out or thought he had gone insane, but they didn't. They looked worried, in deep thought, like they had seen similar situation like this before.

"You don't seem surprised or freaked out." Sebastian said.

"That's nothing for us. We have seen things far worse but we're still sorry about what you had to experience, child." The woman said sympathetically while the man rubbed on his back.

"You're obviously not mortals, no offense."

The couple chuckled fondly.

"No we're not. We're related to your father, remember? And your father is no ordinary being."

"Who are you?" Sebastian asked. "And why do you keep calling me young hero? I'm… I'm anything but that. You heard what I did in the past…"

The couple smiled again.

"We can't tell you why you're called a hero yet. But remember this: what's in the past, is the past. Yes, a man's past is important but it is not ruling over him. What really matters is his choice in the present. What he does or decides in present will shape his future."

"Who are you?" Sebastian asked again.

"Sebastian, we are Oceanus and Tethys, your father's uncle and aunt." The woman said.

"Oceanus and Tethys? You're the Titan and Titanides of the seas!" Sebastian gasped. "You raised Hera during the Titan war and were able to retain your power after it because you stayed neutral."

"Indeed, child. You're very smart." The woman, Tethys, praised.

"And you said you're my father's uncle and aunt… who have the same power as you… You're the Titan of the oceans… Then he would be…" Sebastian whispered. His eyes widened as the puzzle clicked together. "No! It can't be! He… he is…"

"Yes? Who is he, child? Who is your father?" Tethys asked warmly.

"Poseidon…" Sebastian said with his eyes widened.

"Yes, your father is Poseidon, but no one can know about this, at least for the moment, or everything you held on and treasure, including your life, would be at stake." Oceanus said sternly.

"But why… why doesn't he claim me?"

"He can't. It would be too dangerous."

"For what? The stupid pride of the Gods? A family scandal?"

"Be more respectful, Sebastian." Tethys said sternly, the way she did when she caught Sebastian lying. "Your father didn't claim you now because it could result in your death. Zeus accused Poseidon stealing his bolt and if he learnt that you're his brother's son then he won't hesitate to smite you. Poseidon did that to protect you from the sky lord's wrath."

"And your situation is a bit more…" Oceanus tried to come up with a word that was a bit more neutral. "Different…"

"What do you mean? I'm just some accidental product from a stupid one-night stand that no one wants to have?" Sebastian said in a giving up tone.

"In a way, yes b- Ow!" Oceanus yelped in pain again as Tethys smacked on the back of his head hard.

"How inconsiderate can you be?!" The Titanide scolded. "Sebastian, your father didn't even know he had fathered another demigod in the beginning. Your mother had eyes on him for a while and tried to get him. But your father didn't budge. One day, your mother got frustrated and went to the extreme. She invited him and his brother to a club nearby and she spiked their drinks. She took advantage on him when he was passed out. She thought she could have his body and his heart but when things were at the most heated moment, your father called her Amphitrite…"

"Oh boy…"

"Indeed, she was devastated and left soon after she finished. And your father had really no idea what happened because of the severe hangover. It was only three years after you're born, when your brother prayed to him and told him the truth, then he realised that what he had done. He was really scared of what Amphitrite would do because you know what happened to Zeus. Fortunately, the queen of sea spared him the lecture because Poseidon didn't cheat on her intentionally. He still got slapped though."

"Does he hate me? Because I made him get slapped by his wife and suddenly had another burden?"

"Bastian, if your dad hates you then we won't be here talking to you. The rules forbid him to come see you so he turns to a more indirect approach. He asked his Cyclopes, Naiads and Nereids to help check on you. All those mysterious men and women appeared around you when you're young, that's them. They helped your father look after you when he was forbidden to do so. He also implored us to help. That's why we came live next to you. And your father had never viewed you as a burden."

"But why doesn't he send me something? Something as a lousy child-check at least, if not for me, at least for my brother… so he doesn't need to suffer…"

"He did give you something. That piece of necklace and the sword your brother gave you, remember?" "That necklace was made by all kinds of precious material that was very difficult to find, even for a powerful god like Poseidon. Under normal situation the gods sent nymphs or satyrs to fetch the materials for them, but your father didn't. He found all the raw materials all by himself. Then, he came to Hecate's place to beseech the Titanide to enchant it with protective spell. Gods don't just roam to places beyond their realm. Especially for Hecate's living in the underworld and you know Poseidon and Hades don't have the best relationship. But still, he did come to the underworld, to Hecate's mansion by himself. Under normal circumstances, he would be too proud to do so, but for you, he was willing to let go his pride.

"And as for your brother, believe it or not, Poseidon has tried that before, he offered to take both of you to his realm but your brother turned him down. He wanted you to have a normal childhood at least. And he stayed with your mom because your mom brought so many random hook-ups that the smell of cigarettes, alcohol and… sex somehow managed to mask any trace that will reveal you as a demigod. Your brother really loves you."

"I know…" Sebastian looked sadly. "But why are you here? And where are we?"

"Where do you think we are? What were you doing before you came to this ' _place_ '?" Oceanus asked.

"I was… sleeping. So this is in my dream?"

"Yes, we made an arrangement with Hypnos and Morpheus for this meeting." The Titan of the sea said. "Since Poseidon is not allowed to visit you, he asked us to relay his words to you. He said you're grasping the basic skills of a child of the sea. The slushy and the fountain incident were the examples. He also wants you to know that if you're injured, you can heal yourself by going into the water, even something as small as a shower or a sink in a building."

"That's… considerate…" Sebastian managed to say. He didn't want to hate Poseidon because it won't be fair, but still, it hurt to know that your father neglected you on purpose, even if it was against his will.

"And your swords too, use them wisely." Tethys said. Sebastian patted his pocket and to his surprise, the pen and the correction tape were still there. He took them out and the two stationeries turned into swords.

"The one that you brought to the camp is Palirroia (Παλίρροια)." Oceanus said as he trailed his fingers along the sharp blade before turning his eyes to another sword. "And this is its twin: Tarachodhs (ταραχώδης). They are forged in the summit of Mount Erebus where the fire of Tartarus, the water of Pontus and air of Aether meet."

"Riptide and Turbulent…" Sebastian said as he translated the language easily. He admired the blue carvings that glowed brightly whenever he touched them. "They're so beautiful…"

"Yes, but their beauty came with a price. They have a long and tragic past. So please, Sebastian, don't add more sorrow and grief to them." Oceanus said with sincere and earnest wishes. "Now hero, are you now better prepared for the quest?"

"Yeah, I think?" Sebastian didn't sound too confident, but what Oceanus and Tethys had told him would surely help.

"Good, now go on." Tethys said as she kissed his cheek. A strange white fog started to form. "Just remember we will always watch over you, you father will watch over you too."

The Titan and the Titanide disappeared into the fog and someone was shaking Sebastian urgently.

"Sebastian! Sebastian!" Caitlin hissed in his ears.

"Wh… what?" Sebastian croaked as he opened his eyes. Turning around, he saw Cisco trying to hide Skylar behind the seat.

"Why are they doing that?"

"No time to ask! Look!" Caitlin hissed as she nodded at the door. The last passengers were getting on the bus: Three blonde ladies wearing sport suits. One was black with a red whistle hanging on her neck; the other was white with red strips with a black timer and the last one had a blue track suits and a black and white megaphone. They had this ferocious look on their faces and a glint of hatred in their eyes as they sat in the front row, completely blocking the walkway with their legs. A clear message: No one could escape the bus without crossing them.

"What about them?" Sebastian asked as the bus started moving. They headed through the narrow streets of Manhattan, towards the train station.

"Oh Chaos, all three of them…" Cisco groaned as he took out a special machine and handed it to Skylar.

"This baby can melt the glass in one second, press the tip onto the glass and press the red button. Be careful." He explained.

"Are they after Skylar?" Sebastian asked quietly, decided not to tell the other members of the group about what he dreamt.

"Probably, Skylar is a son of the Big Three. His aura will be so tempting for them. Besides, the relationship among the Gods is very tense, it provides an excellent chance for Hades to get something." Caitlin explained. Sebastian turned to look at Skylar. Despite the grave situation, the son of Zeus still had his indifferent look.

"Maybe I can talk and distract them." Sebastian suggested and Caitlin dropped her mouth.

"Are you crazy?!" Caitlin almost shrieked. "Do you know who they are? They are the Kindly Ones, the Furies!"

"What? But… but I recognized them. They brought me to the camp and I had talked to one of them for multiple times in the past." Sebastian was shell-shocked as they hit a tunnel and one of them stood up, stating that she needed to use the restroom. The other two soon followed. Black and White moved pass them but Blue stopped and sat down next to them. She was looking right at Sebastian.

"Sebastian Smythe, we meet again."

"Hi, Sue." Sebastian muttered, trying to keep his voice straight. "What're you doing here?"

"I believe that you have known who I am now, right?" Sue Sylvester stated with a terrifying smirk.

"You… You're a Kindly One?" He answered nervously. "You're not trying to torture one of us right?"

"We are on our way to get one person, but no, that person is not you or your playmates." Sue said. "My boss did have something to tell you guys, however. So you four better listen well."

No one said anything. They were too afraid and nervous to say a thing.

"Our boss's helm has gone missing, and you four will help him find it and give it back."

"What?! But-"

"Lord Hades' helm is missing too?"

"What are we?" Skylar said in annoyance. "Private detectives who specialized in finding people's lost belongings?!"

"Skylar!" Sebastian hissed.

"Insolent boy!" Sue scowled. "Lord Hades will gladly have your soul in Tartarus but he needs his helmet back and **you** are the most suitable candidate to do so."

"But the prophecy…" Cisco tried.

"The prophecy said that you will retrieve the stolen. It didn't specific the number of things being stolen." Sue countered.

"Fine… But the drama queen's stupid bolt will be our main concern." Sebastian grumbled.

"Deal." Sue said with a sinister smile. She liked the attitude of this demigod. "Now, when my sisters came back, you guys should get off the bus."

"What? Why?" Sebastian asked but the bus had already left the tunnel behind and into the older areas of the city. Sue's two sisters came out of the bathroom but instead of getting back to their seats, they stopped by the last row, next to a guy with a hoodie and a mask. White raised her timer and everything started to go downhill.

" **Get off the bus! NOW!** " Sue bellowed as the man suddenly jumped up, poured a smelly liquid on him and lit him on fire. People started screaming and the driver got distracted. He stepped on the brake and the bus halted. Luggage got thrown off from their places and crashed onto the ground, people banged onto the back of the seat. Sue blasted the window with her megaphone and practically shoved Sebastian, Cisco, Caitlin and Skylar out of the bus.

" **GO! RUN!** " She roared as she threw their belongings to them. The passengers were running out of the bus as Sue and her two sisters were wrestling with the terrorist. Grabbing their belongings, Sebastian, Cisco, Caitlin and Skylar plunged into the faint lighted streets of the inner city. The crazed man suddenly yelled something like _"The Lord will kill the fags!"_ and a giant explosion occurred. Sebastian twisted his head just in time to see a huge fireball engulfed the entire bus. Some were still in the vehicle and they ran out of the bus screaming with fire on their clothes. Those who managed to get out of the bus before the explosion screamed again as they scattered around. Sebastian winced at the sight.

"Those poor people… May Lord Hades be kind to them…" He whispered as he ran in the maze-like alleys of the old city with his companions.

As for the crazed terrorist, who was now bathed in fire, laughed in madness, thinking he had managed to kill Sue and her sisters when they suddenly got up from the ground and their appearances changed into what they should look as the Furies. The megaphone, whistle and timer morphed into fiery whips. The man's feature changed from a mad glee to utter fear as he tried to escape from the three demons, as he screamed aloud. But the Furies grabbed onto his arms with their sharp, scorching talons. A flash later, and the three Furies all disappeared, together with the crazy terrorist.

* * *

"Guys, we have missed the last train already. We'll need to wait until tomorrow." Cisco said as he, Sebastian, Caitlin and Skylar walked along the dark alleys of the city.

"Then we'll find a place to stay, maybe a motel?"

"A motel? We won't have enough money to get to Los Angeles if we did that." Caitlin voiced out her concern.

"Then so be it. There's no way I'm letting a woman sleeping on the street in a slum area like this." Cisco frowned.

"How much money will we still have after we stay in a motel?" Sebastian asked.

"Barely enough for tickets to Ohio." Caitlin said in distraught.

"Ohio? Well then, it makes things easier. I have a friend living in Ohio and he won't hesitate to help me. Let me send him a text." Sebastian said as he took out his phone.

"Really? I don't know that you came from Ohio."

"I have never talked about my past, how would you know?" Sebastian then sent Hunter a message. Almost instantly, he got a reply. An " ** _OK_** " was all that he needed.

"Done. He'll meet us in the train station." Sebastian said happily.

"Fine then." The group then moved to the nearest motel and spent the night. Sebastian didn't sleep well that night, his nightmares had come back and the memory of his brother being stabbed by the Minotaur and taken by Hades got more frequent. Within an hour, he woke up five times. Unknown to him, Cisco and Caitlin, even Skylar, were looking at him with worried eyes.

The next morning came and the four hurried to the train station. They bought the tickets to Lima **#** and got on the cabin just in time. Cisco and Caitlin sat near the aisle, facing each other while Sebastian and Skylar sat near the window. Cisco and Caitlin looked out for monsters while Skylar looked out of the window. Sebastian, on the other hand, tried to get more sleep but the moment he did that, a nightmare struck.

It seemed that he had been back to the room where he saw Hades with his brother, but this room was much bigger, the walls and ground were filled with dark angular rocks, the red torches lit up the room in a horrifying manner that made a person shiver. Grey fog and smoke lingered and churned in the far end while some milky white and light grey creatures crowded around him and in front of Sebastian was a huge chasm that seemed to plummet to the very bottom of the Underworld. What's on the bottom? He didn't know, but a fierce aura of evil was emitting right from the opening of the pit, something or someone huge was stirring down there. Smart like he used to be, Sebastian realised what this place was.

"Tartarus…" He whispered and tried to back away from the worst place in the whole world, but his body was felt like being controlled by an unknown force and he was actually walking towards the cavern. The creatures tried to hold him back but to no avail and soon Sebastian was standing right on the edge of the hole. Gazing down made him feel nauseous, the mortals had been right about this: You gaze into the abyss, the abyss gaze back at you. A deep rumble echoed within the pit, like something was trying to break free and rise up from the depths.

 ** _"Young soul…"_** A deep voice appeared out of nowhere. It was ancient, cold, full of vengeance, cruelty, malicious, evil and hunger for power. It was booming and whispering at the same time. It was in front of Sebastian; at his back and on his sides, wrapping around him like a ball of mercury. Visions of brutal murders and blood spilling, tainting entire rivers and lakes red filled his visions. Frightened and disgusted, Sebastian tried to get control to his body.

"Let go of me!" Sebastian shouted as a cracking laugh rang in the air, like a piece of glass and a rugged metal were rubbed together forcefully.

**_"Oh, so young, yet packed with so much strength and potential. Yes… yes… you may be the one who help me rise…"_ **

"How about fucking no?!" Sebastian snapped as he struggled again.

_**"Ah ah, little hero. Don't you know that the Gods have misled you? Work with me, help me rise from this place, and I will give you everything your heart desires… including returning your brother…"** _

A new vision hovered over the fog: Julian Smythe, stabbed by the Minotaur's horn, blood spilling out of the gaping wound, a thin trail of blood ran down his mouth. It was the exact moment before he was taken by Hades

 ** _"Yes… Work with me, and you shall get your brother back immediately."_** The voice spoke again, like he was offering the most tempting bargain ever. It was indeed very tempting for Sebastian. His brother, who he loved most dearly, would come back to him. But then a voice rang in his head, the last sentence his brother told him:

_I'm not disappointed of you._

Yes… He could have agreed to what that voice offered, but his brother wouldn't want him to do such thing. He would definitely be disappointed of him. He would get his brother back, that's a must, but he would do that in the correct way. Gathering all the courage, he stood up straight and shouted back to the darkness.

"I have made my decision. And the answer is **NO!** "

 ** _"Ah… The spirit, youngling. I love it."_** The voice laughed. **_"Help me rise. Bring me the bolt and launch the first blow against the Gods!"_**

Sebastian spit at the pit and tried to run but his body seemed to be glued to the rugged ground, like an invisible hand had grasped onto his legs, dragging him down to the pit.

 ** _"Yes… yes… Just like this…"_** The voice muttered. ** _"Good… Good…"_**

A jolt of realisation struck Sebastian, the thing down there was not trying to drag him in, it was trying to use his body as an anchor to pull itself out. Without hesitation, Sebastian's hands flew to his pocket. His two swords were still there, good. He unleashed Riptide and Turbulent and slashed at the air in front him. The tip of the swords touched his shoes and suddenly a roar rang and a huge blast of wind shot out from the cavern, blowing Sebastian away from its rim. He banged his hand against something hard and yelped in pain.

"Ow!" Sebastian woke with a flail of his hand. He was still in the cabin with his companions. Speaking of which, they were all looking at him in worry.

"What's wrong?" Caitlin asked as Sebastian took a deep breath to calm him down.

"Bad dream." Sebastian replied as he took a sip of water. Immediately, he felt better, his heart stopped beating so fast and his nerves loosened. Remembering what Oceanus and Tethys told him, he muttered a silent thank you to his father and the couple.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Caitlin asked gently. Normally, Sebastian would just wave her off but this dream was so disturbing he told them. The other three was quiet but their expressions were different. Skylar and Caitlin looked deep in thought while Cisco looked freaked out.

"This is bad! This is bad!" Cisco said with a few octaves higher than normal.

"What do you guys think?" Sebastian asked.

"What you described looks like the Underworld, but I don't remember Hades has ever laughed like that. And I don't think Hades will be in that pit. He usually sits on a black throne with skulls, rocks and gems." Caitlin reasoned.

"Besides, why would the thing in the pit ask me, out of all people, for help?" Sebastian questioned. "I kind of believe that it will ask Skylar for help."

"I guess it's because of the prophecy." Caitlin guessed. "Remember the line _'Success or fail lies on the shoulder of the unclaimed'_? You're the unclaimed, the key of this quest. Of course those who want to see the Gods fight against each other and get a benefit from it will want you to help them."

"Then who will that be?" Sebastian asked.

"That would be Hades."

"But you just said-" Cisco began but was cut off by an annoyed Caitlin.

"I remember what I said! That's why we can't have a conclusion now!" Caitlin snapped.

"Guys, don't argue. We need to get off the train now." Skylar said as the train came to a halt, indicate that they had reached Ohio.

* * *

"So where is this friend of yours?" Cisco asked as they waited in the station.

"We've arrived early, so I'll him give a ring first… wait… let me check something…" Sebastian checked his phone and cursed.

"Damn it, I forgot he has Regionals today…"

"What's that?"

"Glee club singing contest." Sebastian explained. "And before you ask, yes, I can sing but it's not that good. Anyway, today is the Regionals competition and my friend's performing with his group, so I guess we'll need to wait until like… 4pm… That's one hour from now."

"Oh man, what are we gonna do now? I'm hungry." Cisco pouted.

"So soon?! You just had two 10 oz. steaks before we left!" Caitlin exclaimed.

"Yeah, but the long run had them burnt to nothing within seconds!"

"Sometimes, I wonder why I even pick you as my companion…" Skylar grumbled as he face-palmed. He turned then to look at Sebastian. "Alright, now what? You're from this town, after all."

"Well, I guess we'll walk down the street and see if there's some place we can eat." Sebastian said.

And so they walked along the deserted street until a shop with a huge sign writing " ** _The Ronggo Gallery_** " came into their view.

"Oh, the smell of burgers…" Cisco grinned. "Let's go in."

"By barging in someone else's places?" Caitlin shook her head. "How appropriate is that."

"Well, I'm hungry!"

"Yeah, we all get that!" Caitlin snapped. "But this place is strange to the bones!"

"I agree with Caitlin. This shop gives me all the creeps." Sebastian added as he noticed all the statues standing in the display window. They were too realistic that it seemed that they were looking right at him.

"Skylar, what's your opinion?" Cisco asked.

"I really begin to regret choosing you as the companion now…"

Before the argument could continue, the door of the shop opened and a middle-aged woman wearing a pair of black sunglasses and a blue veil around her neck came out.

"Hello, my darlings." She greeted them with a warm smile. "How may I help you?"

"We're lost and we're hungry." Cisco said. "We originally planned to go west but accidents happened and we're stuck here. We don't have much money left."

"Oh poor dears, why don't you guys come in? I'm making something to eat too." The woman invited them in. "Ah, by the way, I'm Mendy. Go to the back of the room and turned left, you'll find the dining room."

"Great!" Cisco took off immediately. Shaking his head, Skylar went after him. Mendy turned to look at Sebastian and Caitlin.

"Aren't you guys coming in too?"

"What're we gonna do now?" Caitlin asked.

"It would be a bad idea if we left them alone. So go in, then." Sebastian replied and reluctantly, they followed suite and as they went in the shop and saw even more statues, Sebastian and Caitlin stayed at the back, looking suspicious and feeling anxious. Turning around, they saw the woman locked the door.

"She locked us in!" Caitlin whispered.

"I really don't like this woman." Sebastian whispered to the brown-haired demigod as they pretended to wander around the room full of statues. "The way she looked at us is very creepy. And this place… all those statues… everything was literally screaming danger and monster here."

"I know really. And I think I know who she really is, but I don't have the evidence." Caitlin whispered back.

"I have a plan. If she is who I think she is, then this should be an enough proof." Sebastian whispered what he planned to Caitlin who nodded in agreement. They found Skylar and Cisco sitting on a table and Mendy was already there cooking delicious burgers and French fries. Cisco was busy digging into the burger as Skylar looked a bit repulsed by the other's table manners.

"Is it really okay, Mendy?" Skylar asked. "We don't have enough money."

"Oh no, it's fine for me. I like helping people, especially for young ones like you." Mendy replied.

"Thank you, ma'am." Caitlin replied and immediately, Mendy stiffened and her face turned thunderous but the next second, she was nice and warm again. But the one-second change didn't go un-noticed. Sebastian, Caitlin and Skylar looked at the woman who turned away from them suspiciously.

"It's fine, girl. And speaking of which, do you know that you have such beautiful eyes? It has been so long since I have seen a pair of eyes like that." Mendy said as she collected the empty trays. Now, even Cisco realised something was off. He wiped his mouth with a piece of tissue paper and looked at Caitlin.

"Thanks, Mendy. Oh, by the way, Caitlin, which character is your favourite in Harry Potter?" Sebastian asked, putting his plan in action.

"My favourite… It must be Professor Minerva McGonagall. She's so smart." Caitlin said loudly and a crash was heard. Excusing herself, Mendy hurried to the back of the snack bar to check.

"It's confirmed." Sebastian whispered to his companions.

"That Mendy is actually Medusa, that's why she acted so strange whenever something related to Athena was mentioned." Skylar whispered back.

"Let's kick her ass then." Cisco added.

"I have a plan. I will go find something reflective enough; Sebastian, try talking to her, keep her distracted; Cisco, create a hologram of me as a further distraction; and Skylar, you'll do the honour: Behead her." Caitlin whispered her plan and the group nodded.

When Medusa came back, Caitlin had already left to find a mirror. Gulping, Sebastian tried to speak.

"The sun must be very fierce, if you need to wear sunglasses indoor."

"Oh, my eyes have an infection and I need them."

"Ah, I'm sorry to hear that. But at least you still have your charm."

"And your charm reminds me of someone." Medusa giggled and Sebastian felt Goosebumps started to form. He wondered how his dad would find Medusa attractive. But then he remembered that in the myths, Medusa was a beautiful girl with long blonde hair but got turned into snakes by Athena.

"Oh? Do tell?" Sebastian asked.

"When I was much younger, I met this handsome guy and I knew that he was my true love the moment I saw him, his sea blue eyes, his perfect physique, and his wonderful voice."

"And?" Sebastian was getting really uncomfortable now.

"He didn't notice me at first but I managed to serenade him with my charm." Medusa said and Sebastian fought the urge to gag. "We dated for a while but then things went bad and he left me."

"Left you?! Why would he do that?" Sebastian faked a shocked expression.

"There's an evil woman who was determined to break up my boyfriend and I. I once admired her but my impression quickly turned sour when she didn't approve my relationship with him. And now, I hate her and all of her children!"

"I knew he had some history with that woman and I knew he was stronger than her. Therefore, I tried to tell him that he is better than her, I am better than her, and together we will be better than her. I even managed to persuade him to kiss me in her place. But alas, that woman overheard all this and she took a revenge on me! The moment I stepped into her place, I turned into what I looked like now and he left me!" Medusa was yelling now.

"What did you say actually to piss that woman off?" Sebastian asked, wondering what the monster had said to anger Athena.

"I said my hair looked better than her, which was a fact! Also, I said I prefer his gift instead of hers and people are stupid to choose a stupid gift from a stupid person like her!"

 _"No wonder you got turned into a monster… You insulted a goddess and called the goddess of wisdom stupid…"_ Sebastian thought.

"Only my two sisters stayed with me. They shared my bad luck but they left eventually and I'm all alone! Alone!" Medusa ripped her veil off to reveal her hair made of snakes.

As soon as Medusa touched the cloth, Skylar, Cisco and Sebastian jumped off the bench and ran. The Gorgon lunged towards Caitlin, only to find that it was a hologram.

"Come back!" Medusa yelled into the air. "I'll not be alone again! I'll turn the brown-haired girl into a statue and smashed her to dust! The cursed Athena, mother of the brown-haired girl, did this to me! She turned me from a beautiful woman into this!"

"Yeah, and you have pretty much yourself to blame! Stupid bitch!" Sebastian shouted as they ran into the forest of statues.

"And that teaches you a lesson not to screw in inappropriate places! You whore!" Caitlin shouted from somewhere else and the group immediately moved towards her direction. Suddenly, Medusa appeared in front of them and they immediately closed their eyes. Skylar turned his ring and it turned into a great golden sword with lightning carvings. He lunged himself at the monster, navigating with his ears only. He almost got her but the monster jumped away and the sword rammed into a water pipe. Water exploded out from the broken pipe and everything, including the demigods and Medusa, were now dripping wet. Then something strange happened, the moment Sebastian felt water splashed onto his face, he felt he saw the room even his eyelids were still tightly shut. He could see the statues, the ground. He could also see parts of the wall, his companions and Medusa. And he didn't turn into stone. He touched his face, then a fallen statue next to him and felt the water on them. He realised that this was part of his power of being the son of Poseidon.

"My statues! They are my favourite! You will pay for ruining my collections!" The monster hissed as she lunged towards Skylar who dodged just in time. Using his newfound power, Sebastian jumped up and kicked onto a statue. Its hand slammed against Medusa's head. Her snake-hair hissed and spat as the monster roared in pain.

"Caitlin! Did you find anything?!" Cisco yelled as he threw some kinds of miniature bombs which knocked out more statues and created lots of dust. They now all crowded around the back of the warehouse with Caitlin was holding a green glass ball. She handed the ball to Skylar.

"Here, this might help you finish the monster. A polished shield or a mirror would be an ideal choice but since we have none of them, this will be our backup plan. Its convexity will cause some distortion and beware of the slight difference between the image and the real thing because the ratio-"

"Do you mind speaking simple English please?!"

"It is! General rule: Never look at her directly."

"No shit, Sherlock."

They now waited, Sebastian wanted to help them with his powers but he also remembered what Oceanus had told him: no one could find out about his heritage yet. And thus he remained quiet. Then slowly, a dark figure started to appear within the cloud of dust, Skylar held tight onto the glass ball as the rest of the group got ready of action. Then, without warning, Medusa leapt towards them, her talons extended. They all ducked as Skylar tried to get to the back of the monster by looking at the glass. He almost got that but the monster suddenly turned and he was forced to leap away, but Medusa's talons still managed to grab onto his leg. Losing his balance, he dropped to the ground. His sword flew away from him as the glass ball smashed against a concrete statue and broken into countless pieces.

"Oh Hades…" Caitlin and Cisco groaned.

"You have no chance now." Medusa said smugly as she looked at the smashed mirror. "You won't even get a strike without looking at my face!"

The monster burst out laughing and Sebastian could not hide any longer.

"Really?" Sebastian snapped as he took out Riptide. "I don't think so, monster!"

He still remembered what Oceanus had told him about letting others know about his heritage but his companions needed help, so screw the rules. Act now, explain later. Without hesitation, he extended his hand towards the standing water, willing them to obey his will. It did. The water rose up into the air and gathered around his hand. He then directed the water towards Medusa, splashing her from head to toe. Undoubtedly, both his companions and the monster were shell-shocked.

"You… you're a son of Poseidon!" Medusa gasped. Eyes still keeping closed, Sebastian smirked, taking out Turbulent as well.

"Indeed. And now, say goodbye to the mortal world, monster!"

With that, Sebastian charged towards the monster who ducked. He swung his twin swords relentlessly as he chased after Medusa in the room. The monster tried to slow him down by throwing as many obstacles in his way as possible, but the son of Poseidon just proved how powerful he was: for every tables and chairs thrown at him, he trashed them; for any statues pushed towards him, he cut them into pieces. After more than 15 minutes of cat-and-mouse chasing, Sebastian had the monster cornered.

"You're not going to harm a woman, aren't you? Son of Poseidon, I know it's not your trait." Medusa said in a crooning voice.

"Yes, I know I don't harm any woman, but you're not a woman. You're a monster!" Sebastian shouted.

With an angry growl, Medusa lunged at him with her talons fully extended. Sebastian fearlessly charged forward. Smooth as the finest silk fibre, Sebastian slashed his twin swords right through Medusa, cutting the monster into three pieces: the head, the upper part and the lower part of the torso.

Medusa's head fell to the ground as the monster's body quickly disintegrated into dust and got carried by the water flowing into the drain. Picking up Medusa's veil, Sebastian wrapped the head up quickly, flicking little dying snakes away before they too turned to dust. Only when he was sure the head was firmly wrapped, he opened his eyes and walked back to his companions, as expected, they were still standing at their place, looking absolutely shocked.

"It's done." Sebastian panted. They were still staring at him like he had grown another head. "Stop the staring please? I'll explain that to you guys later, but this is more important: Why didn't it disintegrate into dust?"

"It's like the Minotaur's horn, a spoil of war." Caitlin explained, snapping out of her startle. "But don't unwrap it, it could still turn people who look at it into stone, like Phineus and his co-conspirators."

"Great… Now what are we going to do with the head?" Sebastian groaned. "I definitely don't want to have this incredibly dangerous thing around me."

"It's your spoil of war, only you can decide that." Caitlin said.

"Maybe you can give it to Athena, the last hero who slayed the monster, Perseus, did that." Cisco piped up and earned a glare and a slap from Caitlin.

"Great idea." Sebastian said as he went to Medusa's office. Riffling through all the drawers, he found a bunch of Drachmas and some mortal money. He also found some packing slips for Hermes Cargo Express, each of them had a small bag attached with the words: **Insert coins here.** Finding the right sized box, Sebastian filled the slip with the address and inserted enough gold coins into the pocket. Before he tightened the strings of the pocket, he muttered a silent prayer:

_"Please, dad. I don't know what to do with the head. I hope you can help me watch over it for the moment before I came up with a decision."_

Sebastian then closed the pocket and after a noise sounded like a cash register, the whole package floated into the air and soared into the sky until it could no longer be seen by naked eyes. Satisfied, Sebastian came back to his companions.

"Done." Sebastian said.

"Sebastian… What have you done…" Caitlin whispered.

"Relax, that's nothing of a big deal. Now, let's move on. Dwelling here will do us no good. I say we go to the venue where the Regionals took place." Sebastian said as he walked towards the door.

The others said nothing, after all, who knows what kind of monsters they would run into if they continue to wander around the town.

**TBC…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I read some alternate versions of Medusa's myth and decided to use that. That's why her story is different from what you have heard of. Alright now, Sebastian finally figured out who his father was. How would that affect the quest itself? Stay tuned.
> 
> How do you guys feel about Sue being one of the Furies? Does Sebastian's birth sound believable to you guys? And by the way, I'm thinking of whether I should bring Captain Charming from "Once Upon A Time" into the story. What do you think guys? I will need to change some of the plot setting if I bring Captain Charming and some OUAT characters into the picture.
> 
> More Glee stuff in the next chapter! Including Klaine/Blaine bashing and mocking!
> 
> *This is based on a common Chinese term: "外甥似舅".
> 
> #This is something I made up because the last time I check, there is no train route that goes directly between Lima, Ohio and New York City. :P
> 
> Songs/Background music used:
> 
> Go The Distance (Michael Boston's version) – Alan Menken


	8. NDs stands for New Double-standards

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The NDs & The Warblers clashed with Sebastian & co. Then, a monster came by. Oh boy, what would happen? Stay tuned. ;)
> 
> This story is NOT for Blaine, Klaine and Finn lovers. OOC is bound to happen. Don't like, don't read. Flames will be thrown into the Pacific Ocean.
> 
> Warning: Mention of self-harm. Bloody scene. Violence. And more Klaine/Blaine/Blainer/Klainer mocking.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing other than the plot and my own OCs. Emily, Julian and the relationship of Juliper belong to Cacophonylights. Carmichael belongs to my dearest friend, Eraman. Some settings in the story belong to Rick Riordan. I also DO NOT own the songs I used in this story.

"How long have you known?" Caitlin asked straight away soon they left Medusa's creepy shop.

"Known what?" Sebastian asked.

"Don't play dumb with me. I know you're smarter than that." Caitlin snapped, her hands on her hip.

"On that bus drive."

"Really?" Cisco said sceptically.

"And why should I lie to you? I won't get any benefits." Sebastian retorted.

"How did you know about your heritage?"

"Someone told me."

"Sebastian…" Caitlin warned. "No more hide-and-seek games."

"Fine! Oceanus and Tethys visited me in my dream and told me about that." Sebastian snapped. "They told me about my heritage and the reason Poseidon hadn't claimed me yet."

"Oceanus and Tethys? As in the Titan and Titanade of the sea? You must be kidding."

"And let me repeat myself again. Why should I lie to you?" Sebastian snapped, getting a bit annoyed, frustrated and hurt for his friends not believing him. "Besides, I don't think I'll still be living if all I said was a lie. The last time I know, the Gods didn't like people using their names to lie."

"Guys." Skylar suddenly spoke and startled everyone since he had been unusually quiet. "We're on a mission, remember. If we kept on bickering like this then we won't be able to meet the deadline. Do you want to see that? See the world descend into chaos as both the Gods and demigods were warring with each other?"

"But-"

"I know the risk, and we need to take that risk. The prophecy stated that very clearly. Whether Olympus will stand or collapse, depends on him." Skylar barked. "And please don't forget, I'm the one in charge here."

The son of Zeus then turned to look at Sebastian.

"I trust you, for the moment." He stated. "But if anyone of us caught you trying to do something funny, I will tear you down. I may not have the best relationship with my dad, but if he goes, so does the world. We're watching you, Sebastian Smythe."

Sebastian grumbled but nodded anyway.

"Before we move on…" He said. "No one can know about my heritage yet. Oceanus had warned me about that. I'm not supposed to reveal that to you either."

"And you did when we fought against Medusa. Why?"

"Because you're in danger, and I'll be damned if you guys get hurt when I can obviously help." Sebastian said simply.

The rest of the group stayed silent as they eyed on him up and down, checking for any signs of lying, which was none, obviously.

"Okay." Caitlin broke the silence first. "I'm sorry for not trusting you. It's just… things are very complicated and we all need to be extra cautious."

"Yeah, right." Cisco added.

"Apology accepted." Sebastian whispered.

"So we're cool?" Cisco asked.

"I think so." Sebastian shrugged.

"So where is your friend competing?" Caitlin asked as they resumed walking.

"The April Rhodes Civic Pavilion in…" Sebastian wrinkled his nose. "William McKinley High School…"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just I can't stand the stink of public school." Sebastian said in disgust.

"You looked more than that. It looks like you hate this place."

"Am I really that obvious?" Sebastian groaned.

"Maybe not. I'm really good at reading people." Caitlin laughed.

"Alright, but anyway, yes, I have some bad blood with certain group of people here." Sebastian admitted.

The four went in to the school corridor, searching for the avenue where Regionals was held.

"And let's hope they are wise enough to not start a fight." Sebastian muttered.

"What happened?" Cisco asked.

"Let's just say, I'm not a good person in the past. Something happened and I'm pretty much a jerk, even evil." He looked at his companions warily.

"I believe you must have a reason to do that. No one is born evil." Caitlin said after she studied him for a while.

"I'm not sure if I can ever talk about it… My past… is definitely not a pleasant memory…"

Caitlin and Cisco came forward and patted on his shoulder and back.

"We'll always listen if you feel right." The daughter of Athena gently whispered.

"Yeah, communication is an essential step to get to know a person." Cisco added.

"Thanks…" Sebastian pulled up a slightly teary smile. "I bet your mom will be very shocked if she found out you're working with her rival's son."

"Let her be." Caitlin chuckled. "She can't control who I socialize with."

"I would totally pay to see her reaction." Cisco added and the trio laughed.

"That would be amazing." Sebastian smiled as Skylar nodded at the trio with fondness. He was glad that Sebastian was bonding with the rest of the group. "And… we're here."

They were now standing in front of a door leading to an auditorium. And from the small windows on the double panels, they could see a group of people singing and dancing on the stage. Right now, it's a group of boys with uniform playing on the stage.

"I'll just wait here." Sebastian whispered as he stood by the door and sent Hunter a message.

Soon, the music stopped and the crowd applauded. The judges then decided who the winner was and unfortunately, the Warblers didn't make it. They came in second place with the New Directions in the first place. The door opened and Hunter came out, looking around, searching for his friend.

"Hunter." Sebastian called and Hunter spun around.

"Hey, Bastian." Hunter smiled as Sebastian stepped out of the shadow. He ran forward and pulled his best friend into a hug.

"How's it going?"

"Quite good. We're all intact. Oh, by the way, Hunter. This is Caitlin, Cisco and Skylar. They're my companions and we need your help." Sebastian introduced his companions. Cisco greeted Hunter warmly, Caitlin was a bit awkward but Skylar was eyeing Hunter up and down. There was something weird about this Clarington guy.

"What do you need?" Hunter agreed without hesitation. "I'm glad to help you if it is within my range."

"Thanks, mate." Sebastian smiled but then he remembered something. "Dude, do you know…"

He looked around to make sure nobody was there besides them and his companions. "Sue Sylvester is a Fury?"

"I-"

Before Hunter could finish his sentence, the door banged opened as people started to leave the avenue. The door knocked into Sebastian, who tripped and was going to give the floor a kiss when suddenly a pair of strong arms wrapped around him waist and he landed on something soft. Looking up, Sebastian saw a pair of blue eyes staring back at him, the eyes that belong to Skylar Thawne. They continued to stare at each other, smelling the body scent of each other: Skylar's was clear like the air on Mount Everest while Sebastian's was slightly salty, but still a refreshing smell that reminded Skylar of the pristine water from the South Pacific Ocean.

A giggle could be heard nearby. The five turned and saw a random girl standing by the locker, wearing really fashionable clothes and looked at the holding form of Skylar and Sebastian. Realising what was happening, Sebastian and Skylar quickly detached themselves from each other. Their cheeks started turning pink. Caitlin and Cisco were looking at them with sparkling eyes while Hunter watched in amusement.

"Ok! We need some money!" Sebastian squeaked which caused the random girl and Caitlin to giggle even louder. "We're on our way to Los Angeles but we couldn't afford the train tickets!"

"That would cost about a thousand." Hunter calculated.

"I know, but we need it very desperately. I will pay you back-"

"That's **not** my concern, mate. Relax." Hunter patted Sebastian's shoulder. "I'm just thinking how much I should get out from my account."

"Well, that's… very considerate…" Sebastian managed, his cheek flushed.

"Why are friends for?" Hunter smiled just as the door opened and the Warblers and the New Directions, except Blaine, walked out. They stopped dead on their tracks as they saw Sebastian.

"Oh great…" The green-eyed boy groaned.

"Don't mind them, especially Blaine. He managed to persuade Kurt to give him a second chance but things were never the same. Hummel wouldn't let the hobbit touch him because he didn't trust him and the hobbit was going crazy from all the sexual frustration. He's now hitting on virtually everyone." Hunter whispered to Sebastian.

"Ew!" Sebastian wrinkled his face as a familiar Latina approached them.

"Well, well, well… Look who's here." Santana said with a smirk. "You finally showed up after spending weeks hiding in a dark alley, didn't you? You coward."

"When can you give us the cash?" Sebastian decided to ignore her, focusing on his friend without even looking at the Latina and the approaching New Directions and Warblers.

"As soon as I get to an ATM." Hunter replied as he took out his credit card. "You can catch the next train too."

"So what we're gonna do now is to check the time of the next train? Excellent!" Sebastian said in delight.

"Hey! Don't you dare ignore me!" Santana snapped. "We still have some bones to pick with you!"

"Yeah, you still haven't paid for what you did to Blaine!" Some New Directions boys shouted.

"You corrupted him to be a cheater!" Kurt yelled.

"You ruined two soulmates who are supposed to be together!" Rachel snapped.

"Okay! Cisco, please check the timetable of the next train." Sebastian continued to ignore Santana who finally lost her cool.

"Alright! Maybe it's time I show you some Lima Heights Hospitality!" She snapped. Sebastian pointed his index finger at her without looking, and then sent her a middle finger. The message he gave was crystal clear: **_Go fuck yourself._**

Santana sneered and tried to grab him. But before she could touch Sebastian's arm, someone slapped her hand away, hard. The Latina turned and glared at Caitlin who glared back with equal fierceness.

"Not any closer, bitch!" The daughter of Athena hissed as Cisco came forward to help while Skylar pulled Sebastian in between.

"And who do you think you are?" The Latina snapped.

"That's actually none of your business." Cisco said seriously, which was a rare scene, as the son of Hephaestus was more a joyful and playful guy.

"Why you…" Santana snarled.

"Come at me, bitch. Come at me if you dare." Caitlin hissed. The Latina sneered and charged forward but was held back by Mike.

"They're from the camp." The Asian American whispered to the Latina's ear as Sebastian stopped Caitlin as well.

"Caitlin. They're not worth our time. Wait until Hunt's back and we'll be off." Sebastian said and now, some people from the Warblers and New Directions recognized the trio too.

"Caitlin?" Thad asked.

"Hi, Thad. How are you doing?" Caitlin asked indifferently.

"Uhm… What are you doing here?"

"You know her?" The rest of the Warblers asked.

"She's my half-sister." Thad whispered.

"We're on a mission. And these three are my companions."

"A mission? With him?!" Thad pointed at Sebastian. "Oh man, you're bound to fail."

"I have faith in him." Caitlin declared.

"He's evil, selfish and cruel!" Thad shouted.

"Yes, he did warn us that." Caitlin crossed her arm. "And we promised that we will listen to him and we mean it."

"He's gonna lie, I guarantee." Thad said, earning nods from other Warblers.

"He's going to deceive you." David added.

"And I am supposed to believe what you said? You just came to the camp every summer and even during the two months you spent most of your time in your little circle. You seldom talk to me or other people in the camp. How do you expect me to believe what you said is the truth when you're more like a stranger to me." Caitlin retorted. "I have heard your share, which is totally based on your point of view. Now, I would like to hear **his** version from **his** point of view before I make a conclusion. You need to think critically and objectively, boys. Being prejudicial will only make you look dumb."

* * *

While Caitlin was debating with Thad, David and other Warblers, Skylar and Cisco were dealing with the New Directions, and getting frustrated and annoyed as Hades.

"Let me through, I need to teach this fucker a lesson!" Santana sneered but Cisco and Skylar stood firm.

"No can do. Stand back, now!" Cisco said firmly.

"You won't be able to stop me!" The Latina snarled as she tried to push Skylar away but got grabbed in the shoulder painfully instead.

"And you dare to challenge my authority?!" Skylar asked coldly as he rose to his full height. His natural leader aura radiated. All demigods in New Directions and Warblers could do nothing but take a step back and keep quiet; even the mortals had this eager to bow before him.

"Who… who are you?" Kurt asked, suddenly feeling a bit nervous.

"I am the leader of this mission, I am in charge and Sebastian Smythe is under my command." Skylar declared. "Outsiders like you are not worth my attention, especially when you guys are all heavily biased."

"How do you know we're biased? You barely know us and you automatically believe that we're biased!"

"How often do you speak with him?" Cisco asked back. When no one uttered a voice, he smirked.

"See? You don't even bother to talk to him. How do you suppose to know a guy without communication?"

"He's not worth talking! He's evil! All he did is lie!" Kurt yelled while the rest of the New Directions nodded.

"Oh, and thus we shouldn't listen to you as well." Cisco snapped. "You're just a bunch of strangers to us, thus totally not trustworthy, according to your theory."

"You don't know and refuse to get to know him." Hunter said as he came back with all the money the group required. "Therefore, you have **_no room_** to talk about him."

"And I suppose you know a lot of him, right?" Kurt asked with a forced smile.

"Yes, we have been talking for a long, long time. Of course, none of you noticed that because you never care." Hunter shot back.

"We don't have much time to waste. If you guys don't have anything sensible to say, I would recommend you to keep your mouth shut and get out of our way." Skylar announced, towering in front of the New Directions and the Warblers.

Kurt wanted to retort but the opened again and they saw Blaine getting out of the room. And following behind, were Blaine's parents. Anger flared up inside Sebastian as the water in the pipes started rumbling. Noticing the commotion, Blaine turned to see what happened and when he saw Sebastian, his face lit up and he came towards them.

"Oh, fuck!" Hunter hissed.

"Hey! Sebastian! What a surprise!" The hobbit practically threw himself at Sebastian, much to the dismay of Kurt, New Directions and most of the Warblers. "What're you doing here?"

"None of your business." Sebastian replied coldly, much to the hobbit's shock. He thought Sebastian would flirt back! That's what he did in the past, right?

"Oh come on. Don't be so hostile." Blaine whined.

"I don't see why I should be warm or friendly to you." Sebastian said in an icy voice

"Blaine! Get out of there! He's corrupting you!" Kurt yelled at the back.

"Yeah! Blaine! Get away from him!" Many of the New Directions yelled.

"Listen to your goons, Anderson." Sebastian pulled up a freezing smirk. "Leave me alone or I'm going to break your face."

"Break my face? With your dick? I would be glad to." Blaine leaned in again, trying to grab onto Sebastian's arm.

"Fuck off, man! Go screw yourself with Eli!" Sebastian took a step back.

"How… how did you know that?" Blaine's face started to redden. He had no idea that his cheating had spread so far, even Sebastian knew that. The New Directions, on the other hand, flipped their shits after hearing that.

"You dare to mention that slut!" Tina shouted.

"You corrupted him! You corrupt Blaine into a cheater!" Kurt yelled.

"It must be one of your evil plans! You set Blaine with that whore up so Klaine would break up and you could screw our Blaine!" Rachel snapped.

 _"_ _What kind of logic is that?"_ Cisco whispered to Caitlin.

 _"_ _Who knows? I bet they don't even know what logic is._ " The daughter of Athena whispered back.

"Speaking of that Eli guy, I just regret that we didn't bully that slut enough so he would kill himself." Mercedes said, earning a lot of agree from her choir group.

"Guys, listen!" Sebastian turned to look at his companions and Hunter with a fake shocked face. "Do you hear what they say? They said _'They regret that they didn't_ _ **bully**_ _that Eli guy enough so he would_ _ **kill himself**_ _.'_ How ironic is that? Because thinking back, the New Directions came together because they were all victims of bullying and they wanted to prove to the world that people being bullied could also be successful. They also said they would never bully anybody."

"But now, they admitted they're bullying a guy without remorse or shame. In contrast, they seem to be proud of it." Hunter added. "But turning around, they're going to say they were victims of bullying; bullying is not okay; bullying sucks etc. etc.. Really, I have never seen such a high level of hypocrisy in all my life. It is ridiculous."

"Absolutely disgusting." Caitlin added, looking really disgusted and appalled.

"They should call themselves New Double-standards instead. That would be the most appropriate address of who they are, and it matches with the abbreviation too, it's still NDs." Cisco said in disdain.

The New Directions blushed and snarled, but they couldn't find a counter-argument because Sebastian and Hunter were right. The only thing they managed to get out from their mouths was:

"Shut up!"

Sebastian, Hunter, Skylar, Cisco and Caitlin couldn't help themselves but shook their heads. These people were hopelessly pathetic.

"Seb, don't mind them. Are you free tonight? I really want to catch up with you." Blaine leaned in and trailed his hands up Sebastian's arm. He smirked when he felt the firm muscle beneath the clothes.

"Wow, you're getting hunk. You must be working out." Blaine licked his lips, Sebastian, the trio and Hunter wanted to gag.

"You're disgusting!" Sebastian snapped as he yanked his arm away from Blaine's grip.

"Yeah, says the one who processes information with his dick." Santana retorted only to be slapped on the mouth by Caitlin.

"Enough from your stinky mouth!" Caitlin snapped.

"And get your filthy hands off my leg!" Sebastian snapped and everyone noticed that Blaine's hand had somehow wandered to Sebastian's thigh. This earned more glares and scowls from the New Directions and the Warblers.

"Blaine! Get out of there!"

"How dare you lure him to touch you?"

"Listen to yourselves, guys. Listen to yourselves! Look how twisted your words and forced your logics are!" Cisco snapped. "You sound like those assholes who blamed raped victims!"

"Seb! Don't be so-" The hobbit tried to touch Sebastian but as soon as his fingers touched his T-shirt, the green-eyed boy slapped him hard on the face.

"Blaine!" The Andersons cried as they glared at Sebastian.

"What's the matter with you?!" The New Directions and the Warblers were going really rabid.

"How dare you?!"

"Of course I dare! Come at me if **you** dare, fuckers!" Sebastian snarled.

"Why do you have to be like this?" Blaine whined. "I thought we have-"

"Don't be delusional. Your family and I are mortal enemies. I have never had a crush on you. I don't even consider you as a friend so like Hades I will be friendly to you. Your family has a bad blood with me for years." Sebastian replied coldly and Blaine looked at him agape. The two choir groups started whispering to each other.

"Mortal enemies?! I thought you like me!" Blaine cried.

"I have **never** liked you, Anderson. Never! Don't be such a narcissist, the world's not revolving around you." Sebastian snapped.

"But the texts…"

"The texts are just part of my revenge."

"Revenge? Just what I have done to piss you off?"

"Oh, it's not you. It's the two fuckers behind you!" Sebastian shouted and people turned to look who he was referring to, who were Mr. and Mrs. Anderson.

"You're crazy!" The Warblers and the New Directions were losing their shits again.

"You ought to go to an asylum!"

"How come does that involve my parents?! You don't even know them!" Blaine shouted.

"Oh, I know them. They may have forgotten me but I remembered them." Sebastian snarled. "For more than 4 years, I think of them all the time; when I eat; when I sleep; when I'm at school; when I'm training. I think of them all the time so one day, I will watch them pay for what they had done! I will make sure that day comes true!"

Everybody, even Caitlin, Cisco and Skylar who had some psychological preparation with Sebastian's prior warning, and Hunter, who was Sebastian's best friend, took a step back from the intense loathe radiating from Sebastian's words.

"What… What made you hate them so much?" Blaine asked, looking afraid. "You… if what you said is true, that you knew them at least four years ago, then you should only be a child."

"A child can see and feel a lot of things." Sebastian "And they have a very good memory too. The bad blood between us started with your brother."

"Cooper? What's with him now? Are you trying to bring in all of my family members?" Blaine snapped.

"He is the main role in the fiasco, so of course he will be mentioned. Remember the boy Cooper dated? I won't be surprised if none of you know this." Sebastian pulled up a cold smirk. Needless to say, everyone was shell-shocked.

"What?! Cooper dated a boy?!" Kurt Hummel exclaimed in utter disbelief. "That's impossible!"

"Cooper's not gay. He's my brother and I know him better." Blaine said, feeling smug that he solved Sebastian's lie.

"And Cooper was the one who told me he was dating a boy. When was the last time you or your parents talked to him?" Sebastian snapped and the three Andersons failed to come up with an answer.

"Why would it be related to the topic of Cooper's sexuality? And I'm really shocked to hear that someone as good as Cooper will talk to someone like you." Kurt mocked, trying to undermine Sebastian's credit.

"Of course Cooper talked to me. I have known him during the time he studied at Dalton. I bet you guys didn't even know Cooper Anderson was once a student at Dalton. Don't believe me? Go on, ask the Andersons. They're here so why don't you go ask them? Did your parents tell you about this, Blainey? Did they tell you?" Sebastian pointed at Mr. and Mrs. Anderson who stood at the back of the crowd. Immediately, everyone turned to look at them while Blaine looked at his parents in disbelief.

"Is what he said true?"

"N… no! He's just lying! He's just a crazy guy who wants attention." Mr. Anderson stuttered.

"The old man's lying." The random girl nearby suddenly said, crossing her arms. Her eyes were burning with a cold fury. But why would a random girl feel angry about the Anderson? No one knew. "They didn't dare to meet your eyes. That's because they knew what he said was true and they're the guilty party."

Everyone seemed to believe that and looked at Blaine's parents in shock.

"Why… why didn't you tell me?" Blaine asked.

"Simple. They thought Dalton is a place for corruption." Sebastian cut in. "That's why they sent you to a public school and kept the information of Cooper once studied in Dalton a secret. Pretty sure once you told them you're gay, they figured Dalton couldn't ruin you any further than they already thought you were, so they sent you in."

"And why does Cooper dating a boy is your business? Like I've said before, you don't know him." Kurt asked arrogantly.

"Oh, I know him. I definitely know Cooper and the boy he dated, both of them. Because the boy Cooper dated…" Sebastian said through gritted teeth.

"Is my brother."

* * *

As expected, the New Directions, Warblers and the Andersons gasped.

"Your brother?"

"You have a brother?"

"Why didn't we know that?" One of the Warblers asked and Sebastian exploded.

"Why should I tell you? You guys have never shown the smallest sense of care! Why should I tell you guys about my family or my past when you guys are just gonna amuse yourselves by making fun of it?!"

The Warblers, except Hunter, all held their heads in shame. Someone in the New Directions, on the other hand, was so dumb he decided to cross the line.

"Oh, Sebastian Smythe has a brother." Finn mocked. "I wonder how big a slut he will be."

It took Skylar, Cisco and Hunter to stop Sebastian from ramming into stupid giant but someone else did. Caitlin launched herself forward and punched the giant square in the jaw hard.

" **Yeow!** " The dumb giant fell to the ground as Caitlin stepped her left foot onto his chest forcefully.

"Keep your stinky mouth shut, asshole!" Caitlin sneered. "How would you feel when people called your mom a whore or your father a coward? Don't like it? Then shut the fuck up!"

Finn glared at Caitlin and looked for his friends to help, but to his confusion, no one helped. Instead, they were all looking at him in disgust, even Rachel.

"My brother is the only remaining blood relative I have and he means everything to me." Sebastian continued, neglecting all the fiascos. "When he first dated your brother, he could finally be happy. I saw the real smiles he had on his face, how his entire form seemed to glow whenever Cooper's name was mentioned and he looked like he finally lived when Cooper smiled at him, held his hands, hugged him and kissed him. But then your so called accepting parents found out and they thought it was a huge scandal and they accused my brother for corrupting their ' _precious, normal_ ' Cooper."

"They would never do that! My parents are very open-minded!" Blaine tried to defend his parents but when they turned to look at them, they didn't dare to look up to their eyes.

"Open-minded my ass!" Sebastian roared. "I was there when they spew all the shit. Principal Carmichael, his secretary Ms. Liza King and all the staff were there too. They humiliated the school, the staff and the students; planned to sue Dalton for allowing immoral behaviour known as be a homosexual; called my brother with all kinds of homophobic words; and even went as far as beating him up in the public! My brother had to spend a week in the hospital because of this and soon after he fell into severe depression and alienated himself from everyone, even me!"

Sebastian stopped again as more suppressed memories floated back to the surface.

"Do you know how many times I caught him cutting his arms? At least twice a week! I tried to stop him but to no avail, his depression and self-harm kept getting worse. One time it went so bad and he almost bled himself to death! Do you know how horrified and worried we were? When we kicked the bathroom door open and saw him lying unconscious next to the bathtub, a deep gash on his wrist with numerous white scares dotted his arms; the water spilling out from the tub was bright red in colour because of all the blood he lost. I almost lost him, my final blood relative in this whole world, because of you! If we got there five minutes later, that would have happened and then your family will have to bear the name of a murderer for the rest of your life. I hope your parents are proud of it."

Sebastian paused, panting heavily as he continued unleashing his anguish and resentment towards the Andersons.

"And I vowed to revenge." He said darkly and harshly, his eyes were so fierce that it seemed a fire was glowing in them, causing everyone, even Hunter, to take another step back and shivered like they were in the centre of the Antarctia. "Those who dared to hurt my brother and those I care will pay! Your parents broke my brother's heart and almost got him killed, and **I will break their son, whether physically or emotionally or both…** "

"Why would you be at Dalton? The school was only for high school students." Kurt tried to find loopholes in Sebastian's statement.

"I have been living in Dalton since I was 10. My mother was nothing but a drunken ass who failed on an epic scale of being a parent. Before I came to Dalton with my brother, he was the one who raised me up, despite of all the difficulties and grief and pain. Principal Carmichael, Liza and the rest of the staff of Dalton are the one who show me what a home and a family should be. They are the one I considered as family and Dalton is practically my home. If you don't believe me, feel free to ask Principal Carmichael or Liza. I trust their professionalism and their moral. They won't lie."

Mr. and Mrs. Anderson suddenly gasped. Mrs. Anderson raised her finger at him.

"You… You're…"

"Yeah, I'm his brother." Sebastian pulled up a ruthless smirk. "Julian Smythe, ring a bell? The one that you yelled in his face, accusing him for corrupting your Cooper Anderson; calling him all kinds of homophobic words, slut-shaming him while your husband beat him up in the public with people watching. Yes, he is my brother."

"How… How is he doing?"

"None of your business! You can't fool me with your crocodile tears!" Sebastian bellowed. The water in the pipes was fiercely churning. "I may have forgiven Cooper, and I will leave Blaine alone, because I promise my brother to leave him out. But I will **never** forgive you. Hear me, **NEVER!** "

"Oh, but then your revenging scheme fails." Santana said smugly. "In the end, you lose."

She and the rest of the New Directions started laughing but it soon died down as Sebastian pulled up a smirk.

"Oh, but we're not the only one who heard this confrontation." Sebastian smirked and everyone spun around to see several people recording the fiasco. "I'm sure some of the clips have already reached the Internet. Didn't you claim to be open-minded and accepting? Well, the world knows what liars and hypocrites you all are."

The green-eyed boy turned to look at Blaine.

"And you, Blaine Anderson. The world should now know what a horrible person you are, don't you agree?" Sebastian looked at Blaine with a fake warm smile. "The Chandler fiasco showed how hypocritical you are: Accusing Hummel was cheating on you because he was texting with Chandler when **you** replied my texts with something far worse. And the sexual assault at the back of Hummel's car."

"I-" Blaine was bright red in colour but someone jumped to his defence.

"He was drunk! You sick fuck!" Tina shouted.

"Alcohol is **NOT** an excuse! He's a grown up, he has be responsible to his actions. Being drunk will not exempt consequences. You should have known this clearly, if you read the news. Did those drunken guys get exempt from their legal responsibilities by simply stating they were drunk?"

"It's above the waist and no genitals were touched! You delusional idiot!" Rachel snapped.

"Really? Then what about Karofsky's forceful kiss you guys told me? That's above the waist too."

"Karofsky is a bully! He tried to rape him!" Many of the New Directions shouted.

"Then how come what Blaine did was not an attempt rape? And don't use the ' _He's Hummel's boyfriend_ ' excuse. No means no. It's simple as that. Walk yourself in Hummel's shoes, how about your love interest did that to you after you have made it clear that you don't want to and are not comfortable to have sex with him. Then, he practically forced himself on you. You managed to get out of it but then he got angry and left you alone to deal with all your inner turmoil. And when you told your friends about it, they called you delusional and over-reactive because ' _He didn't touch your genitals. It's all above the waist, so it isn't sexual assault_ '. How would you feel?"

"My boyfriend would never do that to me!" Many of the New Directions girls shouted.

"And Hummel thought the hobbit would never do something like that to him. Look how it turns out?!"

"Who the fuck do you think you are to say so much shits about Blaine and a pair of soulmates meant for each other?"

"I'm simply stating facts. I have known in the beginning that Klaine is bound to fail. Can't stand the distance? Please, it's just an hour between Lima and Westerville. If your precious Blainey couldn't even stand this short distance then how am I suppose them to be able to deal with the much longer distance between Ohio and New York? Having scheduled make-out sessions? Just think about it, would you have such arrangements with your girlfriend or boyfriend? I have never heard a normal couple, straight or gay or lesbian, has such kind of arrangement. Not to mention Blaine was very uncomfortable to have sex or be intimate, except holding hands, with his supposed ' _boyfriend_ ' when he was sober. But when he was drunk, all of a sudden, his discomfort vanished and he didn't seem to mind having public sex who wouldn't take no as an answer! What kind of boyfriend is that? And just a reminder, soulmates is an excuse for people trying to defend a relationship that is way too flawed to function."

The group tried to retort but Skylar decided it was more than enough.

" **Quiet!** " He shouted and everybody became quiet, but Sebastian could swear that he heard Santana, Thad and David mumbling something like: _"Curse him for being a son of Zeus."_

"We're wasting too much time on this stupid bickering. We're on a mission. Now please move."

Hunter gave the money to Sebastian before the group started to leave. It should be the end of this bullshit but people in the New Directions were too stupid, they didn't when to stop.

"You and your brother really should have stayed with your mother, slut! She would have straightened both of you!" Finn yelled smugly, followed by some laughs and claps from the rest of the New Directions.

Immediately, Sebastian's memory flashed back to the moment when Julian was in great pain whenever their mother beat him up for no reason or allowed strangers to have sex with him, more often was to allow the strangers to force themselves on Julian. The pain, sorrow and resignation pasted onto the older Smythe's face like a shadow. It was more than Sebastian could handle and he broke into a run. He heard Hunter spun around and started punching the stupid giant in the face while Caitlin and Cisco joined fighting with the rest of the New Directions. Caitlin was taking on Santana, Rachel, Tina and Mercedes with ease while Cisco took on Puck and Sam without breaking a sweat. Mike and surprisingly, Lauren, on the other hand, stood by his brothers, Wes and Chris with other Warblers who were standing as far as they could, not sure of what they should do. Blaine was still looking shocked with all the new information while Mr. Schue and the Andersons were looking embarrassed.

* * *

Barely controlled his anguish, pain and sorrow, Sebastian ran into an elevator with an obese woman inside, with her pet dog. The door closed, shutting off all the commotions, including Skylar's call to him, and to be honest, he's not in the mood to deal with the son of Zeus now. Sebastian leaned his head on the cold steel surface. He couldn't cry, he was too angry to cry. Right now, he really needed to splash some ice-cold water on his face, even better was to take a cool shower to calm himself down or he would start a destructive rampage right away.

"Bad day?" The fat lady in the elevator asked. Sebastian just grunted, he knew it was rude to do that but alas, he was really not in the mood and he didn't want to snap at anyone.

" _Oh, just give me a monster to kill, to unleash my anger._ " He thought just as the elevator door opened. He walked towards the changing room, ignoring the signs " **No entry** " and the calculating, vicious eyes from the fat woman and her dog which growled. The room was full of standing water, the tapes and shower heads were all dripping water. Apparently his anger was more than the old pipes in this poor public school could handle. Turning on the tape, he sprayed a lot of cold water onto his face, and immediately, he felt his anger started receding but was still high. Sighing, he leant onto the sink and took a deep breath, suppressing his anger and agony further down. He jumped in surprise as he heard barking behind him. Spinning around, he saw the fat lady standing in front of him, her pet dog, probably a Chihuahua, was barking harshly at him.

"What are you doing here? This is a male changing room!"

"I don't care." The obese woman replied with a smile, a forked tongue flickering between her pointed teeth.

" _Oh, for fuck's sake…_ " Sebastian groaned inwardly as he leant against the sink, his hands in his back pockets, where he newly placed his swords. The dog kept barking.

"Now, now sonny." The lady asked. "Does this look like a good time? There're still people nearby."

The Chihuahua kept barking and it was getting on Sebastian's nerves. He felt his anger stirring up again.

"Yeah, listen to your mom, mutt. I'm not in the mood to deal with your dog shit right now." Sebastian snapped. The fat woman's face darkened and the dog barked even louder, foam dripping down from its mouth.

"He's not gonna like that." She whispered darkly.

"Like what you've said earlier: I don't fucking care. And have you taken your sunny to get a vaccination against rabies? Probably no, your doggie is obviously in its terminal stages." Sebastian snapped with his hands gripped onto his swords.

"It's sonny, with an O instead of a U." The fat woman said as the dog barked even louder. "And it's not a Chihuahua, dear. It should be Chimera. That's a very easy misconception."

Suddenly, green scales appeared on the fat woman's arms and her pupils morphed into the shape similar to a reptile. Meanwhile, the Chihuahua continued barking. With each bark, it grew bigger until it was so tall its back was pressing against the roof which creaked and moaned at the additional pressure. Its head was now a lion with blood soaked mane. Its body was similar to a goat and a diamond snake as its tail. It was breathing smoke while its fangs were dripping green venom. On its neck, there was a huge black metal collar as thick as Sebastian's arm with a huge nametag. Most of the words were blurred by all the blood clotting on it, the only words Sebastian could read were " ** _Chimera_** ", " ** _Flame_** ", " ** _Poisonous_** " & " ** _Tartarus_** ".

"Be honoured, Sebastian Smythe. I don't test a weak demigod. Those who really caught my eyes and I think it's worth challenge are the most powerful one, for I am the Mother of Monsters, the terrible Echidna!" The woman said.

"Alright! Listen up, you fat slut!" Sebastian snapped. "Why don't you take your huge butt and your son of a mutt for a walk or go back home and screw with Typhon or have a lot of ants for dinner? Anyone of them, I don't fucking care! Just leave me the fuck alone!"

The fat monster howled in anger.

"I hate it when people say that! I hate Australia! Naming that ridiculous animal after me!"

"Oh, that's too bad!" Sebastian retorted sarcastically. "We're still calling you that aren't we? Miss Anteater. How is the weather in Queensland?"

" **My son shall destroy you for this! Sebastian Smythe!** " The monster shrieked and the Chimera howled, some of its poison got spitted out from its mouth, narrowly missing Sebastian and hit the sink instead. The stones and metals hissed and started to melt, tainting the air with a pungent smell.

"Okay, you want to fight?" Sebastian's anger let loose. "Game on! You bitch and son of the bitch! **And one more thing! Your mom is coming out of your ass! Mutt!** "

The monster shrieked even louder as the Chimera lunged. Sebastian dodged it just in time. Its gigantic jaw rammed into the still smoking washing basin row. The porcelain basins didn't stand a chance. They crashed under the immense force and pressure and water started spraying out from the broken main, dousing all the occupants in the changing room. The monster turned and let out a column of blood red flame from its maw. Sebastian dodged by lowering his body. A loud bang was heard and Sebastian looked out of the corner of his eye at the damages: A wall was missing. The benches, lockers, lights, fans were either turned over, broken, smashed, hanging dangerously unstable or burning. Shouts and screams of people could be heard outside and downstairs. Sebastian groaned as he slapped his forehead: _"Great! Just great! He blew up part of a public school. He'll be in_ _ **so much**_ _trouble."_

A roar brought the demigod back to presence as the monster was going to lunge at him again.

"This will end here. It's either you or me, and it's not going to be me!" Sebastian shouted as he and Chimera lunged at each other at the same time. Sebastian raised Riptide and slashed the monster's neck precisely.

Except it was too precise; the blade glanced off the collar and the monster was left completely unharmed, but it caused Sebastian to lose his balance. He extended his legs on the slippery floor to regain balance. At the same time, the monster turned around and its wide opened bloody mouth darted forward, trying to get a bite out of his legs. Sebastian raised Riptide to deflect its fearsome jaw as he thrusted Turbulent forward, stabbing into the monster's body viciously and accurately. The monster roared in pain as it started to disintegrate, but with one final trick: Before it completely turned into dust, the snake's mouth darted forward and sank its ten-inch fangs into Sebastian's side. The green-eyed demigod let out a blood-freezing scream as the poison started circulating in his blood-stream. The snake head soon turned into dust. With big crystal tears flowing down his deep sea-green eyes, he stared at the huge wounds in his side: freely bleeding, hissing with green smoke and the flesh turned grey and black and the blood bubbling by the poison. Echidna screamed as she watched her son crumbled into dust.

" **YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!** " She screamed but then her face turned even darker. "And you are going to die, Sebastian Smythe. My son's poison is now coursing through your veins, just like what happened to your half-brother a long, long time ago."

"It's a loss though, that spawn of Poseidon was very good looking and had a kind heart, too bad he had to die in extreme pain and alone." Echidna chuckled with a mocking hurt and disappointment look on her face.

Getting really sick of her bullshit, Sebastian threw Riptide at her, hitting the monster in the chest. Echidna cried in fury for one more time before she turned into a pile of dust. Sebastian grunted as he tried to get up from the ground. A coppery taste filled his mouth and nose as blood welled up from his throat. He coughed and the blood came out from his mouth was now black in colour…

He didn't have much time.

Sebastian tried to get to a pond of standing water with a pounding headache and a body suffering from extreme pain. He was also unaware of several voices screaming _"_ _ **NOOOOOOOOOOOO!**_ _"_ in the back of his head; one was particularly loud and pained.

After several minutes of painful crawling, Sebastian made it to the water pond and he virtually collapsed on it. As his consciousness started to fade, he heard people running towards the room. He was also aware that the water was now churning and swirling around him. That's strange. He didn't command it to do anything. Before darkness consumed him, Sebastian felt the water now engulfed him like a bubble. A blinding flash and there's nothing more.

**TBC…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angry Sebastian is awesome and sexy and I know that. And may we all bow to Caitlin, the Badass Queen? By the way, I'm gonna punch Finn, anyone share the same thought?
> 
> Songs/Background music used:
> 
> Reviews are loved.


	9. Random Girl Not So Random

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, remember the random girl in last chapter? She'll have more screen time in this chapter and her identity will be revealed.
> 
> This story is NOT for Blaine, Klaine and Finn lovers. OOC is bound to happen. Don't like, don't read. Flames will be thrown into the Pacific Ocean.
> 
> Warning: Nil.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing other than the plot and my own OCs. Emily, Julian and the relationship of Juliper belong to Cacophonylights. Carmichael belongs to my dearest friend, Eraman. Some settings in the story belong to Rick Riordan. I also DO NOT own the songs I used in this story.

_A coppery taste filled his mouth and nose as blood welled up from his throat. He coughed and the blood came out from his mouth was now black in colour…_

_He didn't have much time._

_Sebastian tried to get to a pond of standing water with a pounding headache and a body suffering from extreme pain. He was also unaware of several voices screaming "_ _**NOOOOOOOOOOOO!** _ _" in the back of his head; one was particularly loud and pained._

_After several minutes of painful crawling, Sebastian made it to the water pond and he virtually collapsed on it. As his consciousness started to fade, he heard people running towards the room. He was also aware that the water was now churning and swirling around him. That's strange. He didn't command it to do anything. Before darkness consumed him, Sebastian felt the water now engulfed him like a bubble. A blinding flash and there's nothing more._

When he finally cracked his eyes open, everything was blurred, muffled and out-focused. He was utterly confused, where was he? Several dark shadows rushed past his face and he soon realised that it was a school of fish. Wait… fish? Sebastian blinked and finally found out that he was in a river, water was all around him with sand, mud, garbage and many other things drifting around him. The next thing he knew, he was in intense pain, coming from the deep wound on his side. The water was doing its magic: Poison was being drawn out and cleansed; the gaping wound was closing with a speed visible to the naked eye; the flesh was growing back and soon covered with new skin. The side-effect of this, however, was an indescribable pain raging through his frail body. It's like being whipped and stabbed by a white hot platinum knife with a coating of boiling sulphuric acid. Sebastian screamed and thrashed his body, his limbs flailing in a wild manner. Above him, the normally quiet river suddenly grew rough, waves churned and pounded onto the shore like a hurricane was striking the city. The huge waves crashed ashore and swept away the soil, causing trees to fell. Whirlpools formed in the middle of the channel, drilling deep into the riverbed and white foams splashing around.

Sebastian continued wailing and screaming when suddenly two pair of hands grabbed his limbs and immobilized them onto a hard surface.

"Hang on! It'll be over soon!" A female voice rang, probably the Naiad of the river. "It's almost done!"

Immediately after that, a sharp pain with unbelievable intensity pierced through Sebastian's battered body and he blacked out again.

When he was finally with contact with consciousness, the river was once quiet again. The churning water smoothened, waves became gentle and the whirlpools dispersed. The current brushed against his cheek tenderly. With a groan, he tried to get up and accidentally took a mouthful of river water. The bad taste, tainted with pollution, made him choke and he started coughing violently.

"Easy, easy, my dear. You've just recovered from those horrific wounds." The same female voice rang next to him. Turning around, he saw a beautiful young woman gently patting his back. There was also another woman, looked younger than the one patting him but still older than Sebastian himself, in the room. But she looked like she was going to pass out any moment as she leant against the wall. Speaking of which, when did he transport to a room under the river?

"You're in my place, son of Poseidon." The older woman spoke gently. She had a long blonde hair and a pair of warm deep blue eyes. "Please forgive the cleanness of the place. I swept the river on a daily basis but with the mortals so keen on dumping their garbage directly in here… you know what happened."

"You're this river's Naiad?" Sebastian croaked, his voice was still hoarse.

"Yes, this is Ottawa River ***** and you can call me Otilah, that's my mortal name." The Naiad, Otilah said gently.

"And who is she?" Sebastian asked about the other girl in the room.

"She's Olivia." Otilah introduced and the girl waved weakly, with a weak smile.

"Why is she so sick?"

"It's because of the pollution of the river." Otilah sighed. "But the main reason is she's a Nereid. She's not supposed to get to freshwater ground. Nereids got sick when they did that, just like when we Naiads entered the sea. The heavily polluted water only worsened her situation."

"Otilah, my dear, I love you with all my heart but if you'll excuse me, I need to have a quick word with my half-brother." Olivia said weakly as she approached Sebastian.

Otilah left the room as Olivia sat down next to Sebastian's bed.

"So what do you need?" Sebastian asked.

"I need nothing from you, at least for now." The Nereid said, looking a bit offended. "I'm here to tell you two things. First, you're gonna need these."

She took out a bag of huge pearls. They were the finest pearls Sebastian had ever seen. Each was as big as his palm and a deep, elegant bluish black colour that reminded Sebastian the colour of the deep sea. They also seemed to be glowing with an inner light.

"These are the gifts from your father…" Olivia started coughing again. Clearly, the heavily polluted water was weakening her. "He can't… **_*cough*_** aid you directly… **_*cough* *cough*_** but… **_*cough*_** this is what he could do without… _ ***cough***_ asking others **_*cough*_** to help! **_*cough* *cough*_** "

Sebastian tried to move towards the Nereid and patted her back, hoping to lessen her coughs. But then, the door opened and the water around them suddenly turned clearer, colder and saltier.

"I told you to let us do the job, dear. Why do you have to push your limits like this?" A disapproving but kind voice entered the room. Sebastian turned around and saw Oceanus and Tethys coming inside. Turning his attention back to the Nereid, Sebastian found that she was getting better, much to his relief.

"I can't wait to meet my youngest half-brother." Olivia said as she straightened herself.

"You little girl, you have tonnes of chances to see him." Tethys shook her head fondly as she came forward to check on her while Oceanus came straight towards Sebastian. His face told the green-eyed boy that he was not happy about something or someone.

"Uhm… Hi?" Sebastian squirmed as the Titan stood in front of him, hands crossed on his well-defined chest.

"You remembered what I have told you?" Oceanus asked.

"Sorry… I can't help myself." Sebastian whispered, just like what he did back when he was child, caught doing something naughty by the Titan or the Titaness. The Titan of the sea just sighed.

"I should have known this. You're so much like your brother and Killian." Oceanus said as Otilah came back with a cup of water. She handed the cup to Olivia, who looked much better after drinking it.

"Killian? Who is this guy?" Sebastian thought before he remembered what Echidna said, about another son of Poseidon.

"Uncle Ozzy." Sebastian asked, using the name the Titan introduced himself a long, long time ago. "When I fought against the Chimera, Echidna said something… about another son of Poseidon…"

Oceanus, Tethys, Otilah and Olivia stiffened and Sebastian knew he might have crossed a line.

"Uhm… Just forget what I asked…" Sebastian said in a hurry but Tethys stopped him.

"No, it's okay, dear." Tethys soothed. "It's just… Killian is one of our favourites. He is those Poseidon's demigods that a lot of deities, including Triton and Amphitrite, and even monsters like Scylla and Charybdis, really love. He's very kind, compassionate, and very handsome too, just like you."

"We all thought he would be a great hero and brought honour to his family." Oceanus said, rubbing his eyebrows and Sebastian swore he saw some shiny things appearing in the Titan's eyes. "But we didn't expect him to… We can probably tell you more about him in the future, but just so you know, he's a wound buried deep within our hearts and souls, especially your father, Bastian, a wound that would probably never heal and with eternal lingering pain."

Sebastian wanted to ask more about his half-brother of his but he kept his mouth shut. Asking them about this man at this moment would only be like rubbing salt into their wounds.

"Is there anything I need to know?" Sebastian asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, about the pearls we gave you, we can't tell you a lot about it but just remember this: What belongs to the sea will return to the sea." Oceanus said.

"Is it from my father?" Sebastian asked quietly.

"Yes."

"I guess I have to get used to this…" Sebastian whispered.

"I'm sorry?"

"Nothing." Sebastian said with a weary smile. "It's just you don't expect your father to appear in front of you and… do stuffs that a father does to his children because it will set everything off balance."

Seeing how lost and hurt those deep sea-green eyes were, Olivia, Otilah and Tethys felt their hearts broke. No one, especially a youngling like this, should experience this.

"I'm not blaming my father because deep within, even I have never met him, I know that he cared about me." Sebastian whispered. "It's just… It's hard to get used to this feeling."

Oceanus said nothing. He just pulled Sebastian into a hug and rubbed circles on his back. He waited for half a minute before he decided he had to continue.

"The second thing is your power continued to develop, but it was already really powerful. To avoid more conflicts which will lead postpone your quest's progress, we decide to give you this."

The Titan of the sea handed him another necklace. It looked exactly like the one Sebastian lost during the confrontation with the stupid giant, also known as Finn Hudson, except the colour was a much deeper blue, like the seawater in the centre of the North Pacific.

"This is a similar version of the necklace that you once had, except this one only dampened your demigod power, not inhibit it entirely." Oceanus explained as he watched Sebastian wore the necklace.

"You will also learn one important skill unique to Poseidon's children: vapour travel, when you get back." Oceanus said. "But you may really need to get used to the feel. Take my hand, I'm taking you back to your companions."

"Uhm… okay…" Sebastian gulped and turned to Olivia and Otilah. "Thank you, guys. I'm really grateful about that."

"You're welcome." The Nereid and Naiad replied with a smile. Sebastian took Oceanus hand and felt himself suddenly got squeezed into a tiny but very violent whirlpool. He felt he was going to be sick or worse, passed out again.

As soon as the demigod disappeared with the Titan, Tethys's face got serious and turned to look at the door.

"You can come out now." She said and a middle-aged man timidly stepped into the room. Despite his mature age, he was still very handsome, with short, slightly messy deep brown hair and stubble. His brilliant bluish green eyes resembled Sebastian's eyes to some extent. He looked at Tethys and the two nymphs nervously as the three women looked at him heatedly.

"Uhm…" The man began but the Titaness cut him off.

"You owe this child a lot of things." Tethys said with her hands on her hips. "I know what you did and currently doing is to protect him, but he's also hurting."

"I know…"

"You could at least watch over him when he was young instead of sending your nymphs and Cyclops to do the work. You're his father, for Chaos's sake." Tethys tried to control herself so she wouldn't raise her voice which was getting harder to do so.

"I know… and I swear on River Styx that I will claim him the moment he finished the quest and returned to the camp." The man, Poseidon, said and swore solemnly. Thunder crackled in the sky, activating the oath.

"You better do that. I really love this child and I will be damned to see if those morons dared to call my grandchild nasty names." Tethys said as Poseidon shrunk smaller under her gaze.

"I will remember this. I will make up my lost time with him the moment he was safe from my brother's wrath." Poseidon promised.

"Oh, will we ever be able to take a break from Zeus's childishness? He's such a drama queen." Otilah groaned.

"No shit, Sherlock. But thinking about it, dad can be a bit of diva as well." Olivia commented and Poseidon's eyes widened.

"What?!"

"Every monthly meeting, dad and Zeus have to argue about who is Rhea's favourite when literally everyone knows that Rhea loved her six children equally."

"Olivia…"

"In some other cases, they have to argue which disaster is more spectacular." Otilah joined in. "And Gaia's skirt, will they ever realise that after every single hurricane or storm or flood, it takes ages for the rivers, lakes, ponds, marshes etc. to become clean again? The last time it happened, Misanolia **#** and Ponela **#** took months to recover because of all the pollution caused by the flood!"

"I-"

"Seriously, they're worse than the kindergarten children right by the shore." Olivia ignored her father's reddening face.

"Very childish." Otilda added.

"They're such a diva."

"And a big drama queen." The two nymphs said together.

"Now, now Otilah, darling, you need to meet your sisters in like five minutes, don't you? And Olivia, my dear, why don't we go stop by my place? I have baked some nectar-crusted brownies." Tethys kindly stopped the two nymphs' rant and saved the sea god from further embarrassment.

"Cool! I love brownies!" The Nereid said in delight and vapour travelled away with the Titaness. Otilah left to meet her sisters soon after that, leaving Poseidon alone in the polluted river. He gagged as someone tossed a bunch of garbage into the river.

"I really need to clean this river, maybe do a sweep of all rivers, lakes, ponds and marshes." The sea god mumbled before flashing away.

* * *

Sebastian felt his body was being stretched to infinity and then compressed to subatomic size, back and forth for who knows how long until all of a sudden, he was standing in the middle of a deserted street in a suburb area with Oceanus.

"Okay. Here we are." Oceanus said. "I need to get going. And Sebastian, be safe."

"Wha… What?" Sebastian was still feeling a bit dizzy and when his mind finally cleared, the Titan of the sea was already gone. He looked around, the sun was almost set but several blocks away, the familiar red and blue lights flashed. The police force was still there. A sudden pang of fear rippled through his mind, where were his companions? And Hunter… Would he be fine?

As Sebastian lost in his mind, he heard several shouts of his name.

" **Sebastian!** "

He barely had enough time to process the information when two bodies rammed into him. Caitlin and Cisco practically threw themselves at him and hugged him so tight he thought all the air in his lungs was being squeezed out. It didn't help when the two demigods were bombarding him with countless questions.

"Guys… Guys! Please let go! I'm fine but you're going to squeeze me to death…" Sebastian gasped and they let him go.

"So what happened? We're all caught up with those stupid morons when there's suddenly an explosion. Your friend Hunter led us to safety and we saw how big that explosion was. An entire piece of wall, part of the ceiling and floor were gone! We wanted to find you but they had the place locked down and no one was found."

"There's a monster, no, two actually: Chimera and its fat mother of a bitch." Sebastian said and Caitlin gasped in horror. Immediately, she turned him around and started checking his body.

"Are you hurt?! Did that monster get you?! I've got some antidote if you-"

"Caitlin! Calm down!" Sebastian grabbed onto her shoulders. He also noticed Skylar was standing a bit further away from them but his brilliant blue eyes were shinning with worry, but Sebastian knew the son of Zeus would never admit it. "I managed to kill them off but the monster's tail got me. It bit me on the side."

He lifted his shirt to reveal the wound which was now a faint scar but still very long.

"Then I'm not sure who, probably all of them, but I somehow got teleported into the Ottawa River. The river's Naiad and a Nereid-"

"Nereid? Why would they be here?" Cisco cut in.

"I'm getting there! They looked after me as my wounds healed. The Nereid gave me these gifts, saying we would need that." He took out the bag with at least a dozen pearls.

"Then Oceanus and Tethys came. They gave me this necklace." He showed them the necklace with a deep blue pendant. "He said it could turn down my demigod aura so we wouldn't run into monsters frequently."

"Wow…" Cisco muttered.

"I really don't know what to say…" Caitlin finished for him.

"And speaking of which, have you seen Hunter?" Sebastian asked, worried about his best friend.

"He led us to the safety, away from those morons and the public eye." Caitlin said. "Then he was gone. No one had seen him. We thought he went back to his choir group but apparently he was not with them. No one really knows where he had gone."

"There's something fishy about this Hunter." Skylar stroke his chin and Sebastian immediately jumped to his best friend's defend.

"Don't! I'm his best friend and I know his personality. He might be a bit creepy and cold and indifferent, but he is definitely not evil, I swear." Sebastian said.

"Fine, but I'm really curious about this guy." The son of Zeus held up his hands in defence as they started walking back to the train station while avoid being seen.

"By the way, Sebastian, you might want to avoid the police for a while." Cisco piped up suddenly.

"What? Why?"

"You blew up part of a public school! They thought you're a crazed guy or a terrorist. And the New Double-standards are blaming everything on you! You should have seen what they said on the news! If you got caught, you'll go to jail!" Cisco said and Sebastian growled.

"Great… just what I fucking need…"

"We need to keep our profile low, really low." Skylar said.

"I think I need to change my name." Sebastian whispered as they disappeared into the deserted streets. "Maybe you guys should call me Barry."

"Barry? As in Barry Allen of **_The Flash_**? I have no idea that you're such a nerd." Caitlin teased.

Thanks the Fates, the group managed to get back to the Amtrak station without getting spotted. The news channels were blasting the audience with the campus explosion. The reporters were interviewing the NDs and some of their stances were really hilarious. The dumbass giant Finn Hudson said Sebastian carried ten gallons of gasoline. Ten gallons of gasoline… Seriously? What is he? A fucking robot that used gasoline as fuel? Cisco went to buy the tickets, but unfortunately, due to the fiasco with the Chimera, they had missed the train to Los Angeles. The train that had the second closest destination would depart in 2 minutes to Denver. Keeping themselves as quiet as possible, the group got on board the train. Sebastian looked back, the police lights were still pulsing against the skyline of Lima, Ohio as they trundled west.

* * *

By the time they reached Denver, the group looked like a gang of homeless teens. They hadn't eaten for three days as their budget was really tight, not to mention they hadn't taken a shower since leaving the camp. Skylar rented a car and they were now heading to the carwash.

"I'm driving." Caitlin said as she got into the driver seat. "I'm the only one who had the license here."

"Just why do we need to go to the carwash?" Sebastian asked. "The car is fairly clean."

"That's because we have decided to shut you up. You've been nagging me about your Hunter for the entire journey from Lima to Denver!" The son of Zeus snapped. He was getting restless and skittish as the son of Poseidon kept bragging about his best friend. What he didn't say was that there's another feeling in his stomach: He didn't like Sebastian hanging out with Hunter this much.

"Alright, alright! Geez, I'll keep quiet. And just so you know, Hunter and I are not together. Just because I'm gay and Hunter's bi, and the fact that we've been best friends for years, doesn't mean we have to be a couple. Besides, do you know how you sound like? You sound like you're jealous of him." Sebastian rolled his eyes and Skylar almost got choked. His cheeks started to warm up as he glared at the green-eye demigod who was staring outside the window. In the front seat, Cisco was looking at them in amusement while Caitlin was externally giggling and internally screaming.

" **I'm NOT!** " Skylar literally shrieked. Sebastian looked at him with a raised eyebrow while Cisco and Caitlin couldn't control themselves anymore. They just burst out laughing.

"Okay, guys. Don't be like an old married couple. We need to report our progress to Chiron and we'll need to call your friend." Caitlin said in amusement just as Skylar and Sebastian glared at the back of her head.

" **We're not!** " They shouted at the same time and then looked at each other, cheeks appearing bright red. Caitlin and Cisco only laughed harder as they drove into the carwash. Cisco made the payment and they immediately got surrounded by a heavy vile of mist.

"Okay, it's time for IM-ing." Cisco said.

"Here? I don't think messaging here could make me escape the close monitor of the cops." Sebastian asked sceptically and everyone in the car looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Who said we're messaging via the phone or any electronics?" Cisco asked. "We're using the more Greek method: a rainbow."

"A what?!" Sebastian was not sure if his ears received the correct word.

"You seriously don't know what IM is?" Cisco asked, looking really astonished. "It's not instant-message, if that's what you're thinking."

"Then what is it? And I hope you remember that I'm still fairly new to the Greek world."

"Oh right. IM stands for Iris-Message, the rainbow goddess." Cisco explained. "We summon her, give her an offering and she will carry the message for us, but the Gods have a higher priority."

"Okay, just where do we summon the goddess? In this small, damp and not so clean place?" Sebastian looked around the place.

"Who said we have to see her body form? Just a rainbow is enough." Cisco pointed to the rainbow formed in the mist as the sunlight passed through the water droplets in the air. "Now, we need a Drachma."

Cisco got one from his pocket and whispered.

"O Iris, beautiful goddess of rainbow, please accepts my offering."

He then tossed the huge gold coin into the rainbow which dissolved like salt added to water.

"Please show me Camp Epineio."

Quickly, the brilliant colours of the rainbow morphed into a window, showing the similar hill ranges and on the left-hand most hill, stood four stone pillars. How come did he fail to notice that? Sebastian thought to himself. They also saw a figure with crew cut hair leaning against a wood fence that the group suspected to be one from the Big House. His handsome face looked worried and torn as he stared into the far end. What made the situation worse was the faint sound of fierce fighting in the background.

"Leonard!" Sebastian called. The son of Hermes spun around, surprise pasted on his face.

"Oh, hey guys. How're you doing? Are you all okay?" He asked with concern and Sebastian felt his heart warmed up. Seeing Leonard made him feel good, the son of Hermes helped him and stayed with him almost all the time when he was in the camp. Surely, Emily, William, Teddy, Alice and her friends were there but Leonard acted like he was his younger brother. Of course no one could ever replace Julian and Hunter in Sebastian's heart as a brother and best friend, but having someone to care about you was like seeing the sun after going through a bitter blizzard or drinking from a fountain after a long journey in the desert.

"Yeah, we're all fine. We're in Denver, and where's Chiron?"

Cisco was going to cut in but Sebastian put up his hand, silencing him.

"He's settling some issues with the campers."

"The campers?" Caitlin asked, worried about her family and friends.

"Issues?" Cisco piped up.

"Does it have to do with the sound of fighting?" Skylar asked.

"Unfortunately, yes." Leonard answered sadly. "Soon after you left, there were rumours that Zeus and Poseidon were really going to have a fight and now the campers are taking sides, just like Trojan War and the two world wars."

"Ugh, when will the Gods and the mortals learn from history?" Sebastian groaned.

"For the moment, Aphrodite, Apollo and Hermes are backing Poseidon while Dionysus is backing Zeus. I suspect that he believes that Zeus will spare his duty if he did that."

"That's not going to work…" Sebastian muttered.

"Indeed. Oh, and Sebastian, you really need to stay low for the moment. For some reason, you have become a known fugitive to the states and they are looking for you everywhere, even the camp saw what happened." Leonard pointed out and Sebastian face-palmed.

"Thanks, I will." Sebastian answered weakly when he noticed a shadow hiding behind a column. "And who's there hiding in the back?"

Leonard spun around but the person hiding in the shadow was already gone.

"Damn it." Leonard hissed. "But anyway, there has been another rumour: they said **_Hades_** is the one who is responsible for the theft. When his brothers were caught in between the fight, he would take over Olympus."

"What? But…" Sebastian wanted to tell Leonard that Hades had also lost his Helm of Darkness and they needed to find it too, but for some reason, he held his tongue.

"I think I need to pay Lord Hades a visit then." Sebastian whispered. He had been looking for reasons to go to the Underworld because… you all knew the reason.

"You're not serious, are you?" Leonard asked just as Caitlin, Cisco and Skylar were staring at him like he had grown another head. "Please tell me you're not planning to go to the Underworld. This is no funny business, man."

"Well, I have to go now. See you later." Sebastian didn't answer Leonard's question. "I have another call to make."

He looked at his companions for help.

"Swipe the mist." Cisco said robotically.

Sebastian did and the window disappeared. It took several seconds for the rainbow to form again. Taking out a Drachma, Sebastian tossed it towards the rainbow and whispered.

"O rainbow goddess, please accept my offering. Show me Hunter Clarington."

The window formed was almost entirely black except a small lamp sitting on a desk and one person was sitting there, reading a book.

"Hunter!" Sebastian cried as his best friend snapped up his head.

"Hey, Seb. You know how to IM now? It's about time." Hunter put down his book and came closer to the window.

"Where've you been? Caitlin said you disappeared as soon as you led them to safety and away from public's eye. Has anyone seen you? I'm worried sick!" Sebastian asked, really worried about his best friend.

"Oh don't worry. I'm fine. I'm now at home."

"Home?! Wouldn't your neighbours see you and report you? Those New Double-standards said you are my partner in crime!" Sebastian cried in worry just as the machine started beeping and the water was shut down. The mist started to evaporate.

"Don't worry, my house have no neighbours nearby." Hunter waved his hand. "And my parents knew me better than those morons. The cops won't be able to find me. They can carry out a blanket search in the entire US, and they won't find me."

"Are you sure about that?" Sebastian was still worried as the rainbow grew fainter, so does the window and Hunter's voice.

"I am, now concentrate on your quest. Don't worry about me." Hunter said and returned to his book. The mist evaporated completely and the group looked at each other.

"Well… at least you know your friend is safe." Cisco started.

"I guess he's right on one thing…" Caitlin said as she started the car. "We need to concentrate on the quest. We have a long way to go."

* * *

They drove for hours before they decided to stop at a diner as Sebastian was going to pass out from hypoglycaemia. The waitress came towards them as families and friends were having their dinner. When she noticed how frayed they looked, she twisted her face in slight disgust. Well, that's not the ideal attitude for being a waitress.

"Well?" She said, raising her eyebrow sceptically. And her tone was not warm at all.

"Four Angus burgers with bacon and cheese please? Combo with fries, two Pepsi, one Sprite and one iced lemon tea." Cisco ordered and the waitress looked at them in disbelief.

"Can you pay for it?" She asked like she was more superior than them and Caitlin snapped. She slammed her hand on the table hard; her beautiful brown eyes were glowing like there's a fire burning inside.

"Of course we can! And I'd kindly suggest you mind your tone unless you want your manager to know how disrespectful you are to the customers!" She snapped and Sebastian suddenly had an urge to kneel before her and chanted, " ** _Long live Caitlin Frost, the Badass Queen._** "

The waitress looked really embarrassed when a rumble echoed in the diner: a motorcycle had just pulled up to the parking area. The headlights glared red, blood red to be precise. Its gas tank had flames painted on it which, for some reason, looked like real fire; a shotgun holster riveted on both side, completed with shotguns, real guns loaded with bullets; the seat was decorated with a piece of leather delicately polished, except the leather itself looked like…

"Is that human skin?" Sebastian whispered to his companions as he turned his focus to the driver. He didn't look much different from any motorcycle driver, but there's something in his aura, his facial expression, a sense of ferociousness, so intense that he could make professional wrestler twice his size shook in fear. He had a blood red beater with a brown leather jacket that reminded Sebastian of dried blood on the blade of a knife and a pair of faded blue jeans with holes, gun holes to be exact. He was also wearing a bright orange shades, hiding his eyes from his view, even it was already 9 pm. Scars littered on his bulky face. He looked at the group and pulled up a smirk, one that made Sebastian really want to punch the man.

As soon as the biker stepped into the diner, the area was hit by a gust of hot, dry wind tainted with gunpowder and blood. Everyone in the diner rose to their feet, their faces reddened in anger. Children started wailing and hitting each other while their parents shouted at them and each other. Some men slammed their cups on the table so hard Sebastian swore he heard the glass and porcelain cracked.

Feeling his anger rising, Sebastian immediately grabbed a cup of water and drank it all. The cold water did cool down his temper slightly and he noticed his companions were all looking pissed. Caitlin looked like she was going to bitch slap the waitress while Cisco was going to throw a chair out of the window and Skylar was ready to flip the table and zapped everyone in the room with lightning. Wait… anger? Fights? Sebastian looked at the biker. He believed he knew who this fellow was. He was William's father: Ares, Greek God of War.

The war god waved and suddenly everything returned to normal. The waitress looked at them with the same level of disdain.

"You hobos have money to pay for it?"

"Excuse me?!" Caitlin snapped but the biker cut in.

"It's on me, and they're not hobos." He said as he sat down next to Sebastian, his huge frame pushed Sebastian to Skylar's side. He turned to look at Sebastian who just looked back at him coolly.

"What do you want?" The green-eyed boy took another sip of water.

"Seb!" Cisco whisper-shouted. "He's-"

"I know who this man is." Sebastian waved off his companion's concern.

"And I don't mind a little attitude, as long as you guys remembered who the real boss is." The biker said with a smirk as he brushed his messy brown hair.

"And with all due respect, **sir** , what do you want?" Sebastian emphasised on the word **_'sir'_**. Ares just took off his red shade to reveal those terrible eyes of his: Deep brown orbs reflecting the cruelty and malice of war; lives lost like smoke got caught in a gale; blood flowing out from the injured and deceased, turning the water, tainting the soil. Sebastian could feel the heat and the blast when a bomb detonated, from the smallest grenades and plastic explosives, to the most terrifying atomic bombs and hydrogen bombs.

"I have got a little proposition for you." The war god said and Sebastian groaned.

"Please don't tell me that we need to fetch something for you too…" Sebastian hissed and Ares's smirk grew bigger. Just at this moment, the waitress came back with trays of food that Sebastian had ordered. After she gave the demigods the food, Ares took out a Drachma and tossed it to her. She stared at the coin sceptically.

"This is not an accepted currency, you idiot." She said with a superior tone and as expected, the war god didn't like it. He pulled out a huge knife from his jacket and started cleaning his fingernails, with lots of dried blood on them, with the tip of the knife. He turned his gaze towards the girl with his left arm resting on the table, eyeing her like how he could polished that stupid face with his knife.

"Problem, sweetheart?" He asked with a cruel smirk.

The waitress gulped and left with the gold. Sebastian just stared at the war god who turned to look at him.

"What are you looking at?" Ares asked, the smirk still hanging on his face and Sebastian decided to have some fun with the war god, a very, very dangerous decision.

"Problem, sweetheart?" Sebastian mimicked Ares's voice. The god's smile vanished and was replaced by a scowl. Caitlin gasped in silent while Cisco and Skylar wondered if the son of Poseidon had a death wish.

"Don't mock me, punk."

"Okay then. Problem, dickhead?" Sebastian asked with a smirk and Ares growled.

"I should have punished you for your attitude but I need you to do me a favour so I'm going to let it pass." He snarled and Sebastian raised his eyebrow.

" _This will be fun… and a bit deadly._ " He thought to himself before he asked. "And what favour could I do for a **god**?"

"Something a god doesn't have time to do himself." Ares said like it was the most obvious answer.

"Doesn't have time or doesn't have the gut? Why don't you go do yourself that favour? After all, you're a god. If a god can't do something, how am I supposed that a mortal like **me** can do that?" Sebastian asked with faked innocence as Ares's eyes morphed into a glowing fire with mini-nuclear explosions.

"Why don't I turn you into a stray cat and run you over with my bike? Because I don't feel like it!" The war god sneered.

"I'm really surprised." Sebastian faked a shocked face. "You know, I have no idea that you are capable to imagine things. I think all your mind can contain is blood, blood, blood; war, war, war and fight, fight, fight."

"You're really pushing your luck, mortal. I should really turn you into a cockroach and stomped with my feet." Ares was really going to snap. The explosions in his eyes intensified and grew hotter.

"Whatever your tiny mind can process, bitch." Sebastian pushed and Ares snapped.

"Oh you-"

Before the war god could do something to Sebastian, an intoxicating perfume filled the air. Everyone looked up and saw the most beautiful young girl getting into the diner. It was the random girl in McKinley, Sebastian remembered, the one who revealed the Andersons were nothing but three lying hypocrites. Her long brown hair shimmering like the finest hardwood; her fashionable clothes made her perfect physique stood out. Her obsidian-like eyes looked directly at their place. She pulled up a smirk and approached them. Ares tried to grab her arm but she pushed his hands away and sat between Skylar and Caitlin.

"Well, never thought I can really make it." She began and Sebastian noticed that every man in the diner was staring at the girl.

"Of course you can make it, babe." Ares purred but shrunk when the girl glared at him.

"Mind your attitude." She warned before turning her gaze to Skylar and Sebastian, eyeing them up and down. That look was very familiar to Sebastian and he blurted out before he could control himself.

"You're Alice's mom, Aphrodite!"

"Indeed I am. You're really a smart guy." The girl, Aphrodite smirked. Her brown eyes, just like those he saw from Alice, were filled with the light of amusement.

"Babe, what are you doing here?" Ares tried to touch Aphrodite again but the goddess slapped his hands away.

"Don't touch me! I'm here for something more serious and you better not interrupt me if you really want to get your precious shield back." She snapped.

"The shield?" Caitlin asked.

"Yes! The shield!" Ares snapped. "Forged in the flames of Mount Etna; made with materials that could squash you to pieces! Ouch!"

He rubbed the back of his head as Aphrodite slapped him hard.

"I told you not to interrupt me!"

She glared at him and the war god shivered.

"So what Wally said-" Aphrodite started again and she got interrupted again. This time, it was Sebastian who cracked up.

"Wal… Wally?! Ares, the god of **War** called himself **Wally**?! Oh my gods! It's so…" Sebastian just burst out laughing. Ares looking he was going to burn the demigod alive while Aphrodite shook her head, a smirk hidden from the war god.

"Don't laugh please. It's important." She said quietly but it had a force that made Sebastian froze in his laugh.

"Sorry." He whispered while whipping away his tears.

"Anyway, Wally and I were having a sweet, sweet date at an abandoned water park but we were interrupted. We left in a hurry and Wally left his shield behind."

"And you want us to fetch it for him?" Sebastian eyed at the goddess.

"Okay, here's the deal." Aphrodite turned to look at him. "I know there're lots of things you want to know, particularly the story of your paternal half-brother long, long time ago and the maternal one who dated my son…"

Sebastian stiffened as soon as the goddess mentioned Julian and Cooper's relationship. He looked up at her and looked into her eyes. He saw nothing but for some reason he felt that the goddess was not happy about the Andersons too. And then there's this Killian guy… Oceanus and Tethys didn't say a lot about him but it seemed that this Killian had a very tragic ending. What could it be and what did it have to do with Aphrodite?

"I will tell you more about them if you agree **and** finish this favour for us." The goddess of love crossed her arms. "What say you?"

Sebastian looked at his companions who were staring back at him. He sighed internally. Guess he couldn't turn it down, right?

"Fine."

"Good!" Aphrodite clapped her hand. "Wally will tell you the address. And here's the tip: Look for the Cupid's Tunnel."

She patted on Sebastian's shoulder, eyed between Sebastian and Skylar and moved to the door.

"But sweetheart! You don't want to stay for dinner?" Ares cried after the leaving figure of Aphrodite.

"No, you moron. You agreed to treat me ice-cream tonight. You better fulfil that or I'm going to turn your face into a pig." She said without looking back and left the diner. Ares froze there momentarily before he spun his head and glared at Sebastian.

"You heard her, right? Go! This is the address! Do not disappoint us!" He chucked a piece of paper into Sebastian's hand.

"Just what happened? You look like you're being thoroughly scared." Sebastian asked in annoyance. Ares bared his teeth but his face told the group that he was actually nervous and slightly afraid. He banged the cup onto the table and hurried after his girlfriend.

The group looked at each other, then towards the paper in Sebastian's hand. It wrote:

**_"_ ** **_Rapt Avenue, 5201,  
Denver, Colorado"_ **

"Well? What do you guys think?" Sebastian asked uncertainly. "I'm just really curious why do they need us? After all, we're only mortals. And do you guys see that? He was scared when he said about that water park. What would make a war god run away from it like a rat discovered by a cat?"

Caitlin, Cisco and Skylar looked at each other.

"I guess we only have one option." Caitlin muttered. "We have to find it out ourselves."

**TBC…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yes, the random girl in the previous chapter is actually Aphrodite, Cooper Anderson's birth mother. And I think the next chapter should include the thrill ride in the Tunnel of Love and those live-to-Olympus broadcasting Cupids. I'm really curious of how will it look for my future couple? And the reaction their parents when they saw the live-broadcasting on Olympus. I will totally pay to see it. XD
> 
> And who can guess why I use 5201 in the water park's address?
> 
> By the way, how do you guys feel about my another backstory in here? Who's ready for some sexy actors from Once Upon A Time like Josh Dallas, Colin O'Donoghue, Sebastian Stan, Julian Morris etc.?
> 
> *Ottawa River is a tributary of the Auglaize River. It runs through northwest Ohio and flows through Lima, Ohio.
> 
> #These are actually some names I made up for the nymphs of Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain.
> 
> Songs/Background music used:
> 
> Reviews are loved.


	10. Sebastian and Skylar's Thrill Ride

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for the legendary Thrill Ride of Love, featuring Sebastian Smythe and Skylar Thawne! So Thallen fans, here's your time!
> 
> This story is NOT for Blaine, Klaine and Finn lovers. OOC is bound to happen. Don't like, don't read. Flames will be thrown into the Pacific Ocean.
> 
> Warning: Blaine mocking for his narcissistic behaviour. Please also beware of Sebastian's language when he got really angry.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing other than the plot and my own OCs. Emily, Julian and the relationship of Juliper belong to Cacophonylights. Carmichael belongs to my dearest friend, Eraman. Some settings in the story belong to Rick Riordan. I also DO NOT own the songs I used in this story.

Dusty, creaky, dirty, empty and creepy, these were the adjectives of how Sebastian and his companions would describe the water park. The main gate was padlocked and full of rust. Inside the park was a total mess: tubes, pipes, papers and other garbage littered everywhere. Fallen leaves, twigs and branches rest on the huge, dry water slides and empty pools.

"I just don't understand why Ares would bring Aphrodite here for a date!" Sebastian muttered as Cisco worked on unlocking the locks with his magical fingers and apparatus. "This place is nothing but creepy and screaming traps!"

"Who knows? Maybe Ares has a different kind of taste." Caitlin said as they walked into the dysfunction water park. She walked into an abandoned souvenir shop and collected all the things that might help in the future, like clothes, flashlights and towels.

"And who will cockblock them?" Sebastian asked.

"That's obvious. Aphrodite's husband, Hephaestus." Cisco answered. "He had caught them in a golden net, and invited everyone in Olympus to laugh at the two, remember? Somehow, he got addicted to this kind of… ' _game_ ' and started pursuing the two as much as possible."

"Cockblocking as a game?" Sebastian raised his eyebrow. "I'm not sure how I should feel about it…"

"It's not his fault for Aphrodite is being unfaithful." Caitlin put her hands on her hips.

"But Hephaestus doesn't seem to be a faithful god either, he has a crush on Athena at one point and he also has lots of demigod children in the camp. Actually, besides Hera, I don't really know any of the Gods are faithful, Athena, Artemis and Hestia are not included."

"Sebastian. Ares and Aphrodite were like ' _Hey, Hephaestus, we're sleeping with each other and see if you can catch us, mwahaha!_ '. It was like a huge slap on the God's face. You can't really blame him for being so angry."

"I'm not blaming him. It's just… are they still married? I mean Hephaestus and Aphrodite. It's not like their marriage is based on love."

"No one knows." Cisco said. "But my guess is they are still married together, otherwise they are not going to see each other in place like this."

He pointed at their destination: Cupid's Tunnel. It must be the main tourist attraction spot when the park was open, judging from the size and how grand scale it looked, a 20 metres across pool in a heart-shape. Dozens of bronze Cupid statues stood around the rim, each of them had a different posture and facial expressions. A tunnel was situated in their opposite direction with a huge sign above reading:

**JOIN CUPID'S ADVENTURE AS YOUR ROMANCE BUDDS!**

Down below, three two-seater boats with a canopy, each had different combination of colours. And in the middle one, resting in the left seat was a polished circle of bronze shield. And next to it was a blue silk scarf, obviously it was Aphrodite's.

"So that's it? We'll just go down and get the two things and leave." Sebastian eyed his companions.

"This is too easy, so easy it gives me a bad feeling." Caitlin frowned.

"Okay then. Cisco and you will stay up here for backup, in case anything goes wrong like you predicted." Sebastian said and then he turned his eyes towards Skylar. The sea-green met sky-blue. They moved their gaze towards the boat, then to sign and back to each other. Suddenly, their cheeks heated up and Caitlin and Cisco started giggling again.

"No! No! No! I'm **NOT** going down there with you!" Skylar crossed his arms, his cheeks pink like rose blossoms.

"Aww, come on! You two need to work **together** , as a team!" Caitlin teased before whispering. "And you two are so cute!"

"It's **NOT** about team-building!" Skylar squeaked. "Me going down the… the love ride… with him?! That'll be so embarrassing! What if someone saw me?!"

"Excuse me?! I'm not that repulsive, you know?! And who's gonna see you?!" Sebastian screeched. "This place is fucking empty!"

"Well, **we** will see you." Cisco jumped in. "But no worry, no one will know about this. It's not like I'm going to film you guys, unless you want me to."

He said with a smirk and the cheeks of Sebastian and Skylar reddened even further.

"Fine! I'm going down there on my own!" Sebastian started moving down the pool side but then he noticed Skylar followed him reluctantly, muttering how embarrassing it would get. In the far back, Caitlin and Cisco were whispering to each other and giggling as mad.

" **Bitches!** " Sebastian mumbled as the two reached the boat. Something shiny captured his attention, he looked up and saw the reason why Ares and Aphrodite would think this was an ideal place for a date: mirrors all around the pool. He could see his reflection at every corner. This must be the reason: they could look at their favourite people when they smooched with each other: themselves.

"How narcissistic are they." Sebastian grumbled. "This is more like the place B-leech Anderson would come and appreciating the only person he likes most: himself."

Turning around, he saw Skylar picked up the scarf with a dreamy feel on his face. His pupils were dilated with a silly smile hanging on his face, and the weirdest thing of all? **The son of Zeus was fucking staring right at him!** When he noticed Sebastian was looking at him, his smile grew even bigger and a shiver ran down the son of Poseidon's spine. Immediately, he snatched the scarf away from the blonde and stuffed it into his pocket.

"What… what?" The son of Zeus looked like he was woken up from a sweet dream. Sebastian rubbed his forehead and sighed.

"Just get the shield. This is giving me a headache." He muttered and jumped in surprise when he felt a hand touched his forehead and a magnified face of Skylar Thawne entered his vision.

"Headache? Are you alright? Are you ill?" He asked in concern and Sebastian was really freaking out.

"Oh no you don't. No more love magic, please!" He squeaked, leaned over to get the shield and knew they were in trouble immediately. The moment he touched the metal, something snapped and they saw a thin thread broken.

"Oh, for fuck's sake!" He snapped just as everything around them jumped into life.

"Guys! Get out of there!" Caitlin shouted at the top and dodged just as the cupid statues fired, narrowly missed her head. Golden cables shot out and landed on the rim of the pool, finer threads grew out of the main thread and within 30 seconds, a net was formed, a golden net, to be exact.

"Golden net… golden net…" Sebastian said and for the first time, he understood the meaning of _'extreme anger results in absolute peacefulness'_.

"For the entire time we were talking about Hephaestus trying to embarrass Ares and Aphrodite and we **knew** Hephaestus cockblocked them…" Skylar's voice rang next to him with equal peacefulness, the effect of the love-magic was nowhere to be seen. "But still we stepped into the trap without questioning it… How can we be so stupid?!"

"That's too late, no use crying over spilt milk. We need to get out, right now!" Sebastian shouted as he grabbed the shield and ran, but going up the slope was never as easy as going down. Caitlin and Cisco were trying to open a gap in the net, but to no avail. And without warning, spotlights rose up around the pool, bathing them with blinding white lights as video cameras popped out from the statues. A loudspeaker boomed.

" ** _Live to Olympus in 30 seconds… 29… 28…_** "

" **Shut the fuck up!** " Sebastian shouted just as the wall of the pool started to move. The demigods froze in their actions as countless of tiny metallic objects poured out. Up there, a loud scream rang.

Caitlin!

Skylar and Sebastian looked up to their remaining companions. Fortunately, they were safe but Caitlin was pointing at the metallic things with shaking fingers.

" **SPIDERS! AHHHHHHH!** " She pointed at the horde of bronze-gear things with spindly legs, tiny pincer mouths and eight eyes shining in red light. The daughter of Athena gave out another scream before running off to the corner. Noticing that the spiders had blocked their way up, Sebastian and Skylar moved back to the boat. The spider army started moving towards them. Skylar tried to zap them with electricity but obviously Hephaestus had thought about it and the metallic spiders remained unaffected.

Up there, Cisco was trying to do something but the golden net just wouldn't budge. Caitlin, on the other hand, was too busy screaming her head off.

" _Poor Caitlin._ " Sebastian thought as he kicked away another spider robot.

" ** _15… 14… 13…_** "

Sebastian was getting really pissed. Oh, how much he wanted to have a cup of water… hang on… water… That's it! The green-eyed demigod looked at the tunnel entrance which was blocked by a whole wall of metallic spiders. Fuck these little shits, they're going to get out from **that** way. He looked around and saw the pipes and the control room.

"Cisco!" He yelled. "Get to the control room to see if you can turn on the pipes!"

The son of Hephaestus dashed to the control room but one second later, he poked his head out.

"It's not working! Dude! All the circuits and chips were either rusted or broken!"

" ** _6… 5… 4…_** "

Sebastian then closed his eyes, willing the water to bend to his will. At first, there was nothing but then, he heard it: the sound of water churning, the roar of water propelling through the huge pipes. Almost immediately, times up!

" ** _2… 1… 0!_** "

The loudspeaker sudden started playing a very familiar melody.

" ** _You were there by my side,  
Always down for the ride_**"

"Oh no, not **THIS** song!" Sebastian snapped as one of his favourite songs started blaring from the loudspeaker. At the same time, water exploded from the pipes, sweeping away all the spiders in its way.

" **** _After all of the stealing and cheating_  
You probably think that I hold resentment for you  
But, uh, uh, oh no, you're wrong  
`Cause if it wasn't for all that you tried to do  
I wouldn't know just how capable I am to pull through  
So I wanna say thank you"

Sebastian yanked a very surprised Skylar into the seat and fastened their seat beat just as the wall of water crashed into them. It swept away the spiders and left the two demigods dripping wet but the boat didn't turned over. Lifted by the flash flood, the boat floated and started spinning in circles around the pool which was now a churning whirlpool with fierce water splashing everywhere. Their boat slammed onto the wall from time to time. The water was also filled with short-circuiting spiders and fragments of metals, wires and many tiny pieces that made up part of the robots. Sebastian tried to control the boat and directed them to the tunnel entrance. It was easier said than done as it was his very first time to do so. Suddenly, a shot of electricity shot through his body and he yelped in pain. Turning around he looked at Skylar who was shooting folks of lightning at the cameras which were still broadcasting live to Olympus. But obviously, the cameras were also immune to lightning, and he forgot the fact that water also conducts electricity and Sebastian got zapped unintentionally.

" **** _`Cause it makes me that much stronger_  
Makes me work a little bit harder  
Makes me that much wiser  
So thanks for making me a fighter

 **** _Made me learn a little bit faster_  
Made my skin a little bit thicker  
Makes me that much smarter  
So thanks for making me a fighter"

"Stop it! You're going to fry me alive with your electricity!" Sebastian shrieked and the son of Zeus stopped what he was doing. Trying to concentrate again, the son of Poseidon willed the current to drift the boat towards the tunnel. Just before they rocketed through into the darkness, Sebastian spotted Skylar raising his two middle fingers at the cameras.

" **** _How could this man I thought I knew_  
Turn out to be unjust so cruel  
Could only see the good in you  
Pretended not to see the truth"

Even in the darkness with the sounds of raging water echoing in the tunnel, mixed with the screams of the two demigods as they held tight to each other when the boat shot curls, hugged corners and took forty-five-degree plunges at unbelievably high speed past loads of love stuff, they could hear the song blaring outside.

" **** _You tried to hide your lies, disguise yourself_  
Through living in denial  
But in the end you'll see  
You-won't-stop-me!"

 **** _I am a fighter and I- (I'm a fighter!)_  
I ain't gonna stop! (I ain't gonna stop!)  
There is no turning back  
I've had enough!"

They burst through the tunnel and met the fresh night air as they barrelled straight towards the exit. Then, they noticed another problem: the exit, which was called ' ** _The Door of Thy Heart_** ' was chained and the other two boats, being washed out earlier, were now a pile of woods.

" **Oh, SHUT UP!** " Sebastian shouted towards the speaker.

"Unfasten your seatbelt!" Skylar suddenly yelled.

" **What?! Are you fucking crazy?!** " Sebastian screamed again.

" **Unless you want to get smashed to pieces! AND DON'T YOU FUCKING CALL ME CRAZY!** " Skylar screamed back. The metal gates were approaching fast. Sebastian strapped Ares's shield to his arm. He thought they were using the boat as a springboard to jump over the gate as it struck into the gate. What he didn't expect was Skylar circling his waist with his arm.

" **** _`Cause it makes me that much stronger_  
Makes me work a little bit harder  
Makes me that much wiser  
So thanks for making me a fighter"

" **WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!** " Sebastian screamed again just as the boat struck, they jumped and got the maximum lift. Again, Sebastian was expecting they would hurl across the air like a bullet and landed into the pool, only to find them floating in the air, descending slower than he expected but still quite fast. He screamed again and wrapped his arms and legs around Skylar, not even considering how compromising the two were looking now.

" **SHUT UP AND CALM** **YOUR TITS!** " Skylar screamed as they crash-landed onto the solid ground. They both groaned in pain but at least they were still alive. Cisco and Caitlin came rushing towards them as the cameras turned to face them.

" **** _Made me learn a little bit faster_  
Made my skin a little bit thicker  
Makes me that much smarter  
So thanks for making me a fighter!"

Staring at the still filming Cupids, Sebastian lost control to his anger.

" **FUCK YOU! ASSHOLES! GO FUCK YOURSELVES WITH A CACTUS! YOU MOTHERFUCKERS! FUCK YOU ALL!** " He screamed, pointing his middle fingers at the cameras. The statues returned to their original positions and the lights shut off. Everything became quiet again, except the sound of flowing water. Sebastian hefted the shield on his arm and turned to his companions. His look must be very horrifying because everyone, even Skylar, took a step back.

"I believe we need to have a talk with the asshole… probably with his girlfriend…" He whispered and smirked. It only made his companions to shiver more.

* * *

The war god was waiting for them in the parking lot of the diner with an amused smile on his face.

"About time, punks." He said, clapping his hands. "And you make it back in one piece!"

"Shut it, asshole. And where's your girlfriend?" Sebastian snapped before Caitlin or Cisco or Skylar could stop him.

"She's back at Olympus, but she told me to forward her words to you: your brother is in good hands and that crippled blacksmith was shell-shocked when he saw that on TV."

Sebastian threw the shield at the god's feet and the war god just raised his eyebrow and picked it up. He spun it like a pizza and the shield morphed into a bullet-proof vest. Ares slung it across its back.

"Your car's refilled with fuel. And take this." The war god threw a backpack at Skylar who caught it just in time.

"There're fresh clothes in it so you won't look like a bunch of lost, homeless crying babies." The god said as he put his shade back on.

"Ha. Ha. Ha." Sebastian laughed humourlessly. "Say the guy who couldn't even handle a bunch of Cupid statues except crawling away with his tail between his legs. How **brave** you are, coward."

Ares's eyes glowed behind his shades as he stared straight into the green-eyed demigod who glared back with equal ferociousness.

"We'll meet again, Sebastian T. P. Smythe. The next time you fight, watch your back."

He jumped onto his motorcycle and roared off down the street. Sebastian raised his two middle fingers towards the god again.

"That's… not very wise, Sebastian." Caitlin whispered.

"I don't care. We are not as powerful as him but he can at least give us some respect. We're not his slaves." Sebastian crossed his arms and started walking towards their car.

Caitlin was not very happy about Sebastian's answer but decided to drop the topic.

* * *

The ride to the west was quiet. Caitlin drove in silent while Cisco was scrolling through his mobile phone. Skylar and Sebastian looked at anywhere except each other. They drove in silent all the way through Utah, Arizona and Nevada. The silence was only broken shortly after the skyline of Les Vegas disappeared into the far horizon.

"Hey… I know I should have done this earlier, but sorry for all the screaming fits back at the water park." She whispered.

"It's okay…" Sebastian whispered. "Everyone has their own weakness."

"It's just… spiders…" Caitlin said with disgust.

"Do all the children of Arachne… The woman who got turned into a spider after being too arrogant when challenging your mom to a weaving contest… Do they seek revenge on Athena's children?" Sebastian asked.

"Yeah, just like what Medusa wanted to do to me… If a spider was within two kilometres of me, things will definitely get ugly."

"Don't worry, you've got us. We're your team, we'll protect you." Sebastian assured her.

"Plus, Ronnie would never mind toasting those creepy things for you." Cisco said with a smirk.

"Shut up!" Caitlin hissed as she started to blush. Ronnie was Caitlin's boyfriend and Cisco's half-brother. What made him really special was the son of Hephaestus could summon fire, cover his body in fire and immune to fire damage. Such a blessing from Hephaestus was extremely rare recently.

"Speaking of being grateful…" Sebastian muttered as he turned to Skylar.

"Uh… Skylar?" He began and started blushing again. The son of Zeus looked at him in confusion.

"Back at the park…" Sebastian started sweating. "Thanks for saving my life… I owe you…"

The son of Zeus started to blush as well.

"We… well… It's nothing…" He stuttered. "You're welcome?"

Caitlin and Cisco started giggling again.

"Speaking of which, do you guys realise that the storm seemed to be following us?" Sebastian asked as he looked away from the handsome blonde. After the water park incident, a storm started developing and it seemed to follow wherever the group went.

"I suspect it's because of my dad…" Skylar deadpanned. "After all, you showed your power in front of the cameras to the Gods. You basically blew your cover in front of them. Now they know you're a son of Poseidon and dad must be further convinced that you're the thief and tried to smite you."

"Zeus will be an idiot if he tries to kill you. You're helping to retrieve his bolt, in case he has forgotten." Cisco piped up.

"Well great. Then, what's stopping him?" Sebastian asked, crossing his arms.

"I will say ' ** _who's_** _stopping him_ '." Skylar said. "Probably Poseidon, or Demeter, or Hestia, or Hera."

"And even if dad gets through all the gods and goddess, he still have to get pass me." He whispered, thinking no one would hear him. At least he thought that way until the moment he looked up due to the silence. Everyone in the car was staring at him, Sebastian was red like a tomato while Caitlin and Cisco's eyes were glittering with excitement.

"Oh fuck…" Skylar groaned. "Forget what I say!"

"Aww, come on." Cisco jumped in. "Don't be like that. We know you **care**."

"You're being delusional!" Skylar snapped.

"Yeah, and please explain why you hugged him so tight like you're unwilling to let him go back at the water park?" Caitlin snorted.

"And the way you looked at him back in Ohio." Cisco added.

"And all the stares directed to him when we're on the train."

"And the jealousy radiating from you whenever Seb was around with Hunter."

"And-"

"Shut up!" Skylar snapped. His face was beat red, so red like blood would seep through from the lightest touch on those smooth skin decorated with those fine, smooth golden hair and stubble… Wait, what?! Sebastian shook his head, trying to expel those weird thoughts from his mind. Now, he was in no better condition than the son of Zeus. Right now, he just hoped the ground would open up and swallow him. Hiding his face in his hands, he cramped into his seat and started to drift off. Once again, he descended into a horrifying dream.

* * *

It was a sea shore on some island. The sky was pitch-black, only illuminated by folks of lightning coursing through the sky. The wind was wailing in the air; the rain poured down like there was no tomorrow; the clouds were churning and the sea was incredibly rough. Another folks of lightning landed on a cliff, somehow looking familiar, in the back of the island and Sebastian saw there was a fight going on. The next second, he was standing next to fighting scene, watching everything going on. He saw a young man fighting ferociously against an entire horde of monsters: harpies, manticores, many other monsters that could not be named, the Chimera and the Minotaur. The young man was getting wearied from all the attacks, his body was filled with countless wounds and scars, some deep, some shallow; some old, some new. But no matter how tired he seemed to be, the fire in his deep sea-blue eyes remained bright like Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky.

A harpy flew at him but missed as the wind suddenly changed its direction. The blue eyed demigod slashed his black sword, with carvings glowing faint blue in the dark, and finished the monster. Even with blood smeared on his face, it didn't blur the handsome features. But then, Sebastian spot something fatal for the demigod: black veins on his neck, creeping onto those stunning cheeks. That man was poisoned!

The demigod steadies himself as he leant onto his sword, swiping the sweat and blood of his face. It was only then when Sebastian noticed another strange thing about this demigod: his left hand and forearm were amputated. What replaced the flesh and bone was a shining, cold, sharp silver hook. Just then, another wave of monster swarmed towards him and the demigod had to get into another round of fight before he could catch his breath. A group of monsters slain, another wave came up. After the cycle repeated for several more times, the demigod was ready to give away. His legs were shaking violently and was coughing blood black as ink.

Looking all the monsters around him waiting to pounce, he raised his arms, high towards the sky. The storm seemed to be diminishing. But Sebastian spot what the demigod was trying to: he was letting the waves and the storm surges piling up for one final attack. Looking towards the sea, Sebastian saw them: the waves, an entire wall of water, more than 30 metres high, hidden from the view of the monsters. The monsters hissed and glared at the one-armed demigod. The blue-eyed man glared back at the yellow or red eyes. It was quiet and almost serene, the perfect illustration of the calm before the storm. Sebastian also spotted a man, with red eyes and an evil smirk, standing within the monsters. He raised his hand and the monsters pounced at the battered demigod. At the same time, the one-handed man released his control over the sea and the mountainous wave slammed onto the island with such fury the land shook. It swept away the monsters, crushing them to pieces. The red-eyed man screamed in fury and fear but soon, he was nothing more than a pile of pieces sinking into the depths of the sea. The blue-eyed man was drifting in the water facing towards the sky. His sword was still firmly held in his hand, the black veins were gone but the pale face and the diminishing light inside those blue orbs told Sebastian that it was too late. Despite the water had cleaned out the poison and mended most of the wounds, it was not fast enough to save the demigod's life. He could feel it in the water, the demigod's life was quickly fading and there was nothing he could do to save him, just like his brother Julian. The demigod was now slowly dying, alone in the still storming sea and probably in deep pain. But even in time like this, he had a smile on his face, like the one Julian had when he got stabbed by the Minotaur. The smile after you knew those you cared and loved were safe, so serene and full of relief that it made Sebastian wanted to cry. He closed his eyes one last time and his chest became motionless. Somewhere in the background, Sebastian heard someone yelled; pain so intense like the man's heart and soul were being torn apart.

" **KILLIAN!** "

" _Killian?! So this was his paternal half-brother!_ " Sebastian stared at the demigod's body and remembered what Tethys and Echidna had told him… his tragic end, in pain and alone. Suddenly, time seemed to come to a halt. Unable to move, Sebastian could only stare at the lifeless body of his paternal half-brother sinking deeper into the sea and finally disappeared from his sight. Then, the same evil voice Sebastian heard in Tartarus rang.

" ** _See? See how your half-brother suffered? That will be your future if you follow the Gods._** "

"Shut up…" Sebastian whispered, trying to force the voice and the image out of his head but it was more difficult to do so than last time because it was what happened. He couldn't deny the harsh fact that he might end up like his half-brother. But somehow, Sebastian was convinced that it was only part of the story. The whole truth was still being hidden and the master of that voice must have screened out those that were unfavourable to him.

" ** _You will only be one of their pawns. If you want to avoid the fate like your half-brother, you need to make a wiser choice. I know you're very smart._** "

"Shut up!" Sebastian snapped as the scene before him changed and he was back at the entrance of Tartarus, only this time, he was standing much closer to the entrance. Just one more step and he would plummet into the endless darkness.

"No… No!" The son of Poseidon struggled.

" ** _Only with me, you will be free from this… Come to me, young one. Come to me…_** "

" **NO!** " Sebastian yelled and flailed his arms, hitting something soft and warm as he did before he snapped open his eyes. He noticed everyone was staring at him, and Skylar. Sebastian turned his head and saw Skylar had his hand covering his nose and mouth, eyes closed, and breathing heavily.

Wait… he didn't… Sebastian turned to his other two companions robotically.

"I… I didn't…" He stuttered.

"Slap him hard in the mouth?" Cisco deadpanned. "Unfortunately, you did…"

"Oh gods…" Sebastian hid his face behind his hands.

"What's wrong with you?" Skylar put down his hand, the skin around his lips and the tip of his nose were now red from the impact. "I'm just trying to wake you up and this is what I got? A slapped in the mouth?"

"Sorry, Skylar. I was… having that dream again…" Sebastian whispered and everyone turned to look at him sharply.

"That dream?" The daughter of Athena asked in concern. "Is it the chasm and the thing down there again?"

"Not exactly…" Sebastian rubbed his forehead. "It was still caused by the thing in the pit but… he was showing something this time…"

"And what thing would it be…?"

"It's a piece of history, I suppose. I… I saw my brother…" Sebastian said and everyone stared at him.

"Your brother? Julian Smythe?" Cisco asked.

"No, not him… His name… is Killian…"

The moment the name left his mouth, everyone in the car stiffened.

"What's the matter? You guys have heard about him?"

"Everyone in the camp had heard about this story, Sebastian." Caitlin replied.

"What do you guys know about him? This Killian, I mean. The thing in the pit tried to lure me, telling me the only way to avoid a death like that is to join him, but I don't think what he showed me was the entire truth."

"What exactly did that thing show you?"

"A stormy night… on an island with a cliff at the back that looks familiar to me. He was standing on the top of the cliff, against an entire horde of monsters alone. His combat and sword skills were ferocious, even though he only had one hand. His left arm was a hook instead, just for your information. But he was critically wounded, tired and poisoned. He… he made his final stand alone, on that cliff, in the wrath of a cyclone."

His three companions were silent after he finished.

"He was not alone…" Caitlin broke the quietness.

"Sorry?"

"He was **not** alone." Caitlin said firmly. "It was clearly written in **_The Hall of Heroes_**."

" ** _The Tale of Six Brothers_**." Cisco jumped in. "That's the section's name. It told the tale of six demigods and the origin of the camp's magical protection. And your half-brother, Killian Kovak, is the main character. I forgot much of its beginning but basically Killian was a pirate with moral. He knew about his heritage and was one of the most powerful demigods at that time. On one of his journeys, he and his companion, Bucky Jefferson, son of Hecate, saved three princes, James David Nolan, Sean Thomas, Phillip Gareth Matthews and a knight that shot arrows, Robin Aiden, from a storm before they rammed onto an island."

"So that's how the story of Captain Hook started…"

"I'm not sure, probably not." Cisco continued. "The main point is, the princes and the knight, they were all demigods. Undoubtedly, their relationship was bumpy in the beginning because, you know, princes and knight didn't mix well with a criminal and an outlaw, but in the end they managed to get over their differences and became close brothers. Killian planned to return the princes to their hometowns safely but he got arrested and almost got executed, thanks to the stupid prince that had the closest relationship with him. After a lot of misunderstandings, heart-breaks, tears, fights and apologizing, they set course to the camp as there was no safe place for them to go. It was Killian's last journey."

"The rest of the story… you know about that already." Caitlin said. "An entire horde of monster was waiting for them. At that time, Killian was already on the verge to collapse and his brothers were trying hard to get everyone to safety but Killian had other thoughts: he was fed up of being hunted everywhere. He was also unwilling to witness those he cared suffered more because of him but he knew his brothers will never leave him alone to fight the monsters."

"Then what did he do?"

"He tricked the rest of the group." Skylar answered. "He told them he would catch up with them and asked them to get help from the camp, they believed him. Once they got into the camp's border, Killian ran in the opposite direction, further away from the camp until he reached that cliff and completely got surrounded by monsters. His brothers screamed his name but there was nothing they could do. The monsters were way too many and the hurricane Killian summoned prevented them from leaving safe ground. The fight was horrifying at sight, one monster killed, two more came up. According to the witnesses, the entire cliff was tainted with blood; the scent was so thick it could be smelt in from the camp, several hundreds of metres away. It was complete madness."

"And the madness only ended when he utilized the powerful power of the hurricane and drowned all the enemies." Sebastian whispered.

"Yeah, the power was so immense it also knocked out the rest of the group. It left the island completely destroyed, only the cliff remained. And soon after the last of the monster died, he succumbed to the poison too…" Caitlin continued.

"When his brothers finally woke up, they were devastated by the news. Besides them, the Gods were hardly hit by the tragedy, especially Poseidon. He raged and wept for years, countless countries were completely annihilated and the entire section of history went blank. That's why the law was made."

Sebastian sat in silence, taking in the new information.

"What about Killian's brothers?" He asked.

"James Nolan ran himself with Killian's sword so they could be with each other and protect the camp together. Sean, Phillip, Bucky and Robin prayed to the Gods to let them stay with their brothers forever. Taking pity of them, the Gods turned James and Killian into a fountain. Two rivers were originated from it but were running in two directions: One plummeted off the cliff to the sea below while the other flowed around the border of the camp and became the upper course of the river that separated the learning and living area. In this way, Killian could be with his father and James while protecting the camp at the same time. The remaining brothers became the four stone pillars guarding the fountain." Skylar finished.

The story left Sebastian feeling awe, confused and guilty. He was awe of how brave and willing his half-brother was to protect those he loved. The confusion and guilty part came from remembering Julian. If he'd acted differently back then, could he have any chance, saved his brother?

Sebastian shook his head to get rid of those " ** _ifs_** ". His brother Julian was in the underworld, that had happened and it wouldn't help the situation by thinking of all the " ** _what ifs_** ".

Looking out of the window, the lights of Los Angeles could be seen far away. Sebastian solemnly vowed to himself: He would save his brother and put a stop to this madness, no matter what cost.

**TBC…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you guys think?Who can guess what are the "T" and "P" of Sebastian's middle name? What do you guys feel about the reference of characters from "Once Upon A Time" and the stupid backstory? Does it sound forced? And how do you guys feel about the Thallen moments here?
> 
> Okay, and I think in the next chapter, the four demigods will begin their descent to the Underworld, complete the quest and then "The Lightning Thief" part will soon come to an end. I think it may be time for me to re-read "The Sea of Monsters". That is, if you want me to continue the story.
> 
> Songs/Background music used:
> 
> Fighter – Christina Aguilera
> 
> Reviews are loved.


	11. It's About To Go Down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more villain, then the group is down to the Underworld, guys. Beware!
> 
> This story is NOT for Blaine, Klaine and Finn lovers. OOC is bound to happen. Don't like, don't read. Flames will be thrown into the Pacific Ocean.
> 
> Warning: Several ND members being assholes, particularly the B-, K- and F-guy. You've been warned, don't shit in my inbox or leaving reviews like "Why #$% and #$% are not together?!" or "K #$% forever!". I'm serious about that.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing other than the plot and my own OCs. Emily, Julian and the relationship of Juliper belong to Cacophonylights. Carmichael belongs to my dearest friend, Eraman. Some settings in the story belong to Rick Riordan. I also DO NOT own the songs I used in this story.

It was almost evening when they finally reached the streets of Los Angeles.

"So where is this entrance to the Underworld exactly?" Caitlin asked as she stopped at a red light.

"I don't know. This slip just told us it was a company called PAO Recording Studios but I couldn't find the exact address." Cisco replied.

"Why would the Gods need that? Hermes could just teleport to the place directly." Skylar rolled his eyes.

"So what do we do now? We check every single street in the entire West Hollywood?" Sebastian asked.

"Maybe we should stop and think for a second." Caitlin said as she stopped the car on a roadside. Cisco turned on the radio and everyone froze when they heard the news was broadcasting the explosion in Lima, Ohio.

" _That man was a freaking monster!_ " They recognized the voice from the one and only Kurt Hummel. " _We all knew he was a bully from the beginning but we have no idea that he is a psycho lunatic!_ "

" _He had partners with him! They must be the one who brought the gunpowder into the school!_ " Another voice from the dumbass giant Finn Hudson boomed. " _And the last time we heard, they're going west! Probably starting another attack there and bring terror to the people!_ "

" _I don't know what I see in him… He's such a jerk…_ " Sebastian was going to break the radio as he heard the voice from Blaine Anderson. " _I once thought he was a nice guy… that we can be friends…_ "

"He's such a lying shit! Mr. and Mrs. Anderson must be really proud of him…" Sebastian hissed.

" _There you have it, a bunch of adolescents terrorized by someone similar to their age with serious issues._ " A new female voice rang, probably the reporter. _"The last known position of this troubled young fugitive was reported a week ago in Denver, outside the Drue Diner. Three more people were seen accompanying them. There were two people who had communicated with him. Who are these people? And who is this Sebastian Smythe? When we come back, we will discuss that with a leading adolescent psychologist. Stay tuned._ "

"Really? Do all the journalists have no sense or moral at all?" Caitlin snapped as she turned off the radio harshly. "They were not like that in the past!"

"People change." Skylar said lowly. "In the past, the reporters and editors of those media were really trying to tell the public what exactly happened. Now, all they care was how much audience they could get and how much money they could make. They are no longer reporting **facts**."

"Just like the majority of the Republicans…" Cisco rubbed his forehead. "Just a bunch of fucking liars…"

"I'm really curious to see their reaction if they saw what really happened and what exactly caused it." Sebastian whispered.

"They won't. They can't look through the Mist." Caitlin shook her head. "Even if they really caught a glimpse of the monsters or our weapons, they would just think it was their illusion or substituted them with something they knew if their lives. That's simple human psychology and part of the Mist's magic."

"But the Mist itself… it is created and maintained by Lady Hecate, isn't it? What if it got removed or destroyed for some reason?" Sebastian asked.

"I'm not sure about that, but chaos is bound to happen." Caitlin reasoned. "After all, the mortals' minds work and evolved agonizingly slow, especially in terms of ideology and culture. If our world was really exposed to them, they would definitely pretend it was all faked. When they were forced to accept that it was real, they would treat it with a hostile manner. They always have irrational behaviour towards anything new that might challenge their traditional brains. They always refuse to change."

Sebastian sighed.

"Just keep moving. It's no use being mad with those morons." Sebastian said and looked out the window. "And we have company."

The others looked and saw a group of people approaching them. They had clubs and steel bars in their hands. A gangster, obviously.

"Hold on, guys." Caitlin said. "This is gonna be bumpy."

She stepped hard on the gas pedal. The car sped forward and spattered sewage and garbage at the gangsters' faces.

"Wait! Wait! Wait! There it is!" Cisco suddenly shouted. "PAO Studios! There!"

He pointed at a small entrance built with dark marble, huge letters made of pure gold were etched onto the black reflective stone:

**"PAO RECORDING STUDIOS"**

"We'll turn around the next block, then we'll leave the car and get to the studio." Caitlin stated they saw the gangsters were following them.

"Got it!" Everyone in the car replied. Caitlin stepped onto the gas. The car sped past the block and then took a sharp right turn. The gangsters soon arrived and found the empty car. They looked around before deciding to harass other people instead and left. After a while, four heads popped out from a shop called " **CRUSTY MATTRESS WHOLESALE** ".

"I think we lost them." Cisco whispered.

"Lost who?" A voice boomed behind them and they jumped. Spinning around, they saw a guy with a devious look. He had a smile on his face but it was like the one a python had, before it pounced and strangled its prey.

"No one!" The group replied at the same time.

"So you're avoiding those gangsters then. Thanks to them, I got some customers every night. I'm Crusty, by the way." He introduced himself. "Are you looking for some mattresses? I can show you some."

"Uh… no, actually. We're in a hurry." Sebastian carefully replied but the man cut in.

"Oh, if you're waiting for the studio, you'll need to wait. There're lots of people there." Crusty said and the group stiffened. How did he know?!

"This is my most popular model. It is a water bed, actually. You can feel a million-hand massage for this one." The shop-keeper patted his hand proudly over a mattress cover with red satin sheets. It vibrated and Sebastian could see the ripples flowing through it.

He stood up and turned towards them. "Come on, try it."

"Uh… I don't think-" Caitlin began but Crusty pushed her. Unknowingly, his hand touched the part a man shouldn't touch a woman. Caitlin sneered. She spun around and slapped Crusty hard on the face.

"Don't touch me! You fucking pervert!" She screamed and slapped the man again.

"Okay! Okay! Yeesh!" Crusty held his arms in defence. Caitlin glared at the man.

"Well then, maybe you can do me a favour and try this out." He turned to Skylar who looked at him with a gaping mouth.

"Are you serious?! Do you know how to write the word ' _shame_ '?" He snapped, unwilling to move, but Crusty pushed him in the chest. The son of Zeus landed on the mattress on his back with a grunt.

"Hey! What're you-"

Skylar's protest was cut short when Crusty snapped his fingers.

"Ergo!"

Ropes shot out from the sides of the mattress and held the blonde to it.

"Oh, almost…" The salesman frowned.

"What?" The rest of the group were shivering and tried to take a step back but a raise of the man's hand stopped them from moving.

"Don't worry, kids. We'll find you one in a moment."

"What're you doing?! Let him go!" Caitlin cried but the shopkeeper shook his head.

"Not now, I've got to make him fit first. He's too short for it." Crusty said and as if on cue, more ropes sprang out and latched onto Skylar's limbs and started tightening, stretching the son of Zeus from both ends.

Stretching…

"You're not Crusty, are you?" Sebastian asked, a mind forming in his head. He would need Caitlin and Cisco's help but first he must keep the salesman distracted. He muttered an apology to Skylar in his mind, this's gonna hurt for him.

"Procrustes, that's my legal name." He admitted, confirming Sebastian's suspicion. "But you know it's difficult to pronounce it so I made it Crusty, more user-friendly."

"Wow, that's very genius of you." Sebastian praised and Procrustes's eyes lit up.

"Really? Thank you! Finally someone can appreciate me. Most of the others just said I'm a crazed bandit!"

"Sebastian! What are you doing?!" Skylar cried, his forehead was glittering with beads of sweat. Caitlin and Cisco were staring behind in disbelief.

"And this feature can really stretch our muscles too." Sebastian ignored him. "I wonder if you can make him to have other sets of posture."

"Absolutely." The salesman replied with confidence.

"Show me. I'll need to take a picture of it." Sebastian challenged. The bandit smirked and turned towards Skylar. Sebastian took out his phone and raised it higher than his head. But instead turning on the interface of the camera, he created a new message. He wrote it in huge capital letters so Caitlin and Cisco could also read it clearly.

" **CAITLIN, GET THE LAMP FROM THAT BEDSIDE CUPBOARD, NEAR THE ONE WITH ROSE COVER. HIT HIM AS HARD AS YOU CAN FROM HIS BACK.**

 **CISCO, KEEP DISTRACTING THE BANDIT WITH ME.** "

The two demigods nodded, realising what Sebastian intended to do. Procrustes just made Skylar in an X shape when he saw Caitlin moving towards the mattress with rose pedal cover.

"Don't mind her. She's just curious about that one." Cisco jumped in, pulling up a smile on his face.

"Yeah, yeah. I love flowers and wanted to check this one." Caitlin piped up. "I want to see if these sheets are made from real silk from China."

"And can we have another posture? Like a ballet dancer?" Cisco asked.

"That can do." The bandit turned back to Skylar who spitted at him. Caitlin grabbed the lamp and hurried back to them.

"Can you lift his right leg a bit lower? Yeah, that's right. Now, his arms. Move his left arm a bit higher, like he was really dancing. Yeah, that's fabulous." Sebastian kept distracting the bandit until Caitlin gave him the signal.

"And… **GO!** " He shouted. Procrustes turned to him with confusion, only to get smacked on the head hard by Caitlin, who swung the stone-made lamp as hard as she might. The bandit dropped down to the floor, unconscious. Cisco and Caitlin hurried towards Skylar and cut off the rope. Sebastian then pushed Procrustes onto the mattress and summoned the ropes to tie him down.

"Ugh… You drive a hard bargain…" The bandit hissed as he woke up. Sebastian just glared back at him with a cold smirk.

"More like you messed with the wrong person." Sebastian uncapped Turbulent. "I vowed to protect those I love and care. As for those who dared to harm them, I will make sure they pay and I mean my words. **You** , on the other hand, are going to be the **first**. Be honoured, bitch. Don't worry, though. It's gonna be quick."

Crusty opened his mouth but Sebastian swung the sword and the bandit stopped making sound. Everyone let of a breath of relief. Sebastian turned to Skylar who was still glaring at him. But he could say that the son of Zeus was not really angry at him.

"How does your stretching exercise go? Can you do a back-flip now?" He teased.

"You're so dead, young man." Skylar hissed as he stood up, moving his limbs to get rid of those numb feelings.

"Come at me, you drama princess. See if you can catch me." Sebastian invited him with his index finger.

"Why drama princess?" Caitlin asked curiously.

"Well, his father is a drama queen. That made him a drama princess." Sebastian smirked but dropped when he saw the son of Zeus was smirking too.

"You're going to pay for this **and** the slap on the car back then." Skylar smirked and lunged at the son of Poseidon. Believe it or not, the two just started having a hide-and-seek game inside the shop, with a lot of shouting and childish insults throwing at each other, much to Caitlin and Cisco's shock.

"Can you believe this…?" Cisco whispered to Caitlin.

"Not in my wildest imagination…" Caitlin replied flatly.

"Even when they fight, they looked like a pair of high school students in puppy love…" Cisco deadpanned as Skylar finally managed to grab Sebastian. The blonde locked the green-eyed boy with his huge arm and started rubbing the soft brown hair. Sebastian was yelling and laughing all the time and to Caitlin and Cisco's biggest surprise, Skylar was smiling! Skylar Who-never-ever-smile Thawne was fucking smiling! It would be like Aphrodite suddenly decided to be faithful to Hephaestus.

"Well technically… you're right for half of the statement: Sebastian is a high school student, but I just have no idea that **Skylar** to have this youthful side too." Caitlin said, still staring at the two.

"It seems Sebastian is warming up Skylar, making him more like a living being rather than the cold, indifferent 'Iceberg' back at camp…" Cisco observed and recalled all the times when Skylar Thawne acting not-so-Skylar like. "Or that maybe is just Aphrodite's plan, she always does this."

"Maybe… and after we finish the quest and got back to the camp," Caitlin said with determination in her eyes, still staring at the duo.

"I'm going to tell my friends and sisters about this. And we will make sure: **The ship will sail!** "

"Oh boy…" Cisco swore he could see all the crazy schemes forming inside Caitlin's fantastic mind and shuddered.

"But before we start this operation…" Caitlin whispered as she approached the two idiots. "We have to finish the mission first."

She slapped hard on the back of the two's heads and shouted.

"Alright, you two! Get yourself together and stop your lovers' quarrels." She said. "We're going under."

* * *

It was late at night, but the studio was still brightly lit and packed with people. A tough-looking guy sat behind the reception desk. He wore an expensive black silk tuxedo and had an earpiece. His pale blond hair was shimmering in the light.

"That guy reminded me of Paul Bettany." Sebastian commented.

"Ooh… Paul Bettany! I love him! His role as Jarvis in ' ** _Iron Man_** ' and ' ** _Avengers_** ' series are my favourite, not to mention the chemistry between him and Tony Stark. They will be a great couple if Jarvis has a body. I-" Cisco whispered.

"Cisco!" Caitlin hissed.

"What?! I'm just trying to give us some distraction!" Cisco hissed back. "Before we go down under, you know?"

"More like to you. Only you ship cyberhusbands; I, for one, ship superhusbands and superfamily." Caitlin snorted as they walked inside the lobby.

The first thing they noticed was how cold the room was. They also heard music, the sound of pipe organ and orchestra, humming from hidden speakers, but to Sebastian, the sound seemed to come from the walls, like what he heard back in Poseidon's cabin, except the music played was things like ' ** _Toccata and Fugue in D Minor_** ' and ' ** _Davy Jones Theme_** '. Another thing was the colour of the room: everything was either steel grey or black. The furniture, the pots and the decorations, all were black or grey. The people were lining up quietly for the elevator but as soon as Sebastian tried to focus on anyone of them, their body started turning more translucent.

The reception desk was located on a raised podium so they had to tilt their head up to look at the receptionist. True to Sebastian's words, the guy looked very much like Paul Bettany. His slightly pale skin was totally free of wrinkles and the light blond hair was short, slightly messy but it only made the guy look sexier, and the black tuxedo he wore not only made his perfect physique stand out, it made his entire form radiate a sense of elegant and yet dark aura. It was like a poisonous snake, extraordinary beautiful but at the same time packed with danger. A black Narcissus was embedded to his silver name tag which reflected the glaring light of the room but the group still managed to catch a glimpse of his name.

"Charon… as in the ferryman?" Sebastian whispered as the receptionist looked up from his work. His beautiful blue eyes seemed to be penetrating his soul. Sebastian gulped.

"Well, a young man." The Paul Bettany-like Charon spoke. "And one that knows my work instead of asking me if my parents are a fan of Greek mythology. Now, how may I help you, little dead ones?"

Sebastian gulped again and started to blush. Charon's accent was British-like and British-accent was always a turn-on for Sebastian. Just before he could say anything, someone jumped in, with a less than happy voice.

"We need to go to the Underworld." Skylar said coldly and his form was stiff. Charon raised his eyebrow.

"Wow, that's refreshing and honest. No screaming and other shits of their own religion." Charon looked back to his record book. "How did you die then?"

"We're very much alive, thank you very much." Skylar replied coldly and Charon looked up sharply. He looked at the four of them with calculating eyes. Then those beautiful blue orbs narrowed.

"Indeed… I should have known… you're demigods." He said and the room turned colder.

"And we **need** to go to the Underworld." Skylar insisted.

"No living is allowed here, you may want to take your leave now." The ferryman to the Underworld replied coldly. Skylar looked like he was going to jump onto the desk and gave Charon a punch but Sebastian jumped in.

"Okay, let's be diplomatic. We're here because Lord Hades has a side quest for us and we need a piece of crucial information that only Lord Hades could provide us. Unless you want your boss to keep waiting until he ran out of patience, we humbly ask you to take us to the Underworld, please?"

Charon fell silent and he narrowed his eyes on the group again. When he found they're not lying, he sighed.

"Fine, but no tips, no service." He said. Skylar wanted to say something but Sebastian took out some Drachmas and handed them to the ferryman. Looking content, he stood up elegantly, like a noble gentleman, Sebastian thought but then he caught Skylar's cold eyes staring on him. What's wrong with him?

"The boat's almost full, anyway. I might as well add you guys and be off. Follow me." He said. They pushed through the crowd of waiting people who started grabbing them and tried to shove them to the back of the lane but their translucent body passed through them. To the group, the grab seemed to be more like wind blowing through. Charon escorted them to the elevator which turned out to be crowded with people, each had a green bracelet on their wrists. Several people wanted to squeeze into the elevator, only to be pushed back into the lobby by Charon who looked really grumpy.

"Alright." He announced to the room. "Let me clarify my terms: No one touches the radio, unless you want to spend the next millennia standing here. Is that clear?"

He pressed the button and the doors closed. He then inserted a key card into a slot in the panel and they started descending.

" _Okay, there we go…_ " Sebastian whispered in his mind. " _We're going to the freaking Underworld…_ "

He looked at his companions and they all looked nervous. After all, no one will ever step into the Underworld. The place was simply not a choice for vacation or business. The light in the elevator got darker as they descended further, until the elevator stopped for a second and started moving forward. It also started swaying. The sound of water drippling and flowing could be heard, near and afar. The air turned misty and a cold blue light illuminated the elevator, except it was no longer an elevator, they were on a huge wooden barge. Turning back to Charon, Sebastian noticed that the ferryman's tuxedo was replaced by a long black robe. His face got even paler and his beautiful blue eyes were now a pool of darkness, cold, despair, gloomy, the taste of no return. He had a huge pole in his hands. The person in front of Sebastian no longer reminded him as Jarvis, the all-round AI butler in " ** _Iron Man_** " and " ** _Avengers_** " series. Instead, Sebastian thought he saw Silas, the albino antagonist in " ** _The Da Vinci Code_** ", smiling in front of him and the pole in his hand was a knife, waiting to plunge into his body. People, or spirits, around them started changing. Their modern clothes started peeling off like leaves in the chilling wind of autumn. Grey hooded robes replaced what they were once wearing. All these things were reminding Sebastian where he was going.

Feeling really nervous, he grabbed hold of the hand of the person closest to him. That hand was slightly larger than his, more callous than him and was giving him some weak electric shot. Wait… he didn't… Sebastian turned and saw the face of Skylar Thawne. Sebastian tried to yank his hand away but the older man squeezed back. Suddenly, Sebastian was thankful that it was dark enough so the son of Zeus wouldn't be able to how red his cheek was at the moment. The barge slowly moved across a dark tunnel, with a shoreline of black sand and a background of rugged barren rocks, dotted with huge holes and stalactites that looked very much like fangs. They also saw waterfalls higher than all the ones that mortals had seen. Looking further up, Sebastian could see water droplets dripped down from the stalactites ceiling high beyond their reach. They moved past one more turn and their vision broadened dramatically. Charon was now poling them across a dark shimmering river, swirling in silent. Sebastian looked down to the water and saw the river bed was filled with all kinds of mortal things and the water was heavily polluted.

"What happened to the River Styx?" He asked, finally breaking the eerie silence. "It's so polluted…"

"As the deceased past through the river, all their unfulfilled dreams would be left here. Those that could take a physical form would precipitate and sank to the riverbed like those soggy diplomas and banknotes while those that do not have physical form like the yearning for power and greed for fame would remain in the water. What you now see is the result of countless of people dumping these wishes over thousands of years and it escalated shortly after the Industrial Revolution, a solid proof of how corrupting mortals can be."

"But some of them are good." Sebastian defended.

"I do not deny that, in the past many of them were good. But ever since the Industrial Revolution, people became even more greedy, hubris, cruel, bloodthirsty and hypocritical." Charon said. "Occasionally I have really seen real good people, their souls shimmering like the stars in Olympus, but they're the minority now. Most of the case, you see things like these."

He gestured to the spirits in the barge.

"Many of them are grey in colour, they're neither good nor bad. The kindness in their souls was tainted by the greed and hatred at some point of their lives. And some, like that one over there, had lost almost all his kindness. His past-life was nothing more than killing, hating, discriminating and bullying."

Charon nodded at one spirit which was dark grey in colour.

"Is there a possible way for a soul to become completely black?"

"If it is completely black…" Charon looked towards the far end of the river. "That means he or she had committed a sin that could never be forgiven, like murdering your own family, betraying your friends, break the oaths you made, hubris, etc.… Those would have a black soul, completely corrupted. Therefore, if you saw someone in the mortal world saying things like ' _It's a sin because God says so_ ' or ' _God wills it_ ', these are a kind of hubris. They're not the Gods and they're not their heralds but they thought they were or they're executing powers only the Gods had, those people are the one having a black soul and I would welcome them to my colleagues."

He finished with a smirk which only made him look creepier. The Underworld could now be seen in the far horizon, hidden in the mist, glimmering in a greenish or blue or red light. Another wave of fear soared up Sebastian's throat, he squeezed Skylar's hand again and muttered a silent prayer.

The shoreline came into view, like the way they came from, it was made of craggy gabbro and kimberlite. Dark basaltic sand stretched inland for several hundred metres to the base of a high stone wall, extending to infinity. A gate was located between two huge stone sculptures towered on the wall: two hooded figures holding some kind of weapons. As they got closer, the gate slowly opened and a blood red light leaked out. A deafening howl could be heard somewhere in the gloomy environment, its voice echoed in the hard, unforgiving stones.

"Ah, dear Cerberus is possibly bored." Charon smirked again as the boat came ashore. Slowly, the dead began to unload. The dark grey soul, however, was unwilling to move forward. Instead, the sly soul tried to jump into the water and swam back to the living world, only to be grabbed by Charon and shoved him towards two awaiting ghouls. The soul kicked and screamed, trying to get free but was being dragged away.

"Things like that happen occasionally. Sometimes it was a single man, sometimes it was a group. But no matter how hard they tried, they could never get away from what they're fated." Charon replied indifferently and turned back to the group.

"I need to be off now, and I'd wish you luck, but there's none down here." He winked and started ferried the now empty barge back across the river.

"The nymph Styx would be very angry to see her river became polluted like this…" Sebastian whispered as they passed the huge gates of the Underworld, several words were embedded onto the rock saying, " **YOU ARE NOW ENTERING EREBUS** ", and saw its border. It looked like a cross between airport securities instead of great looming columns with torches as expected by the son of Poseidon.

A metal detector like apparatus with two security cameras on top was placed in front of three separate entrances. Behind it were three desks like what was seen in an airport, under a huge banner saying " **JUDGEMENTS FOR BLESSING OR DAMNATION** ". Desk no. 1 had two guys, one sitting and one standing; desk no. 2 had only one guy and desk no. 3 had no one. And as expected, the line went through desk no. 3 was moving right along while the other two were crawling, especially desk no. 1.

"Line no. 3 goes to the Asphodel Fields?" Sebastian asked.

"It should be, given the fact how fast it goes. The people don't get judged so they can avoid being punished." Caitlin suspected.

"But it came with a price." Cisco piped up. "What they got was standing in a wheat field for eternity."

"Oh dear…" Sebastian shuddered.

"Yeah, but not as much as that." Skylar said, nodding at the commotion on Line No. 1 and 2.

One spirit was dragged towards a rocky path to the left, to the Fields of Punishment while the other one was dragged to the back, to a much darker place. The two spirits were screaming and kicking as they were brought to their damnation in the distance. A vast, barren, volcanically hyperactive wasteland, with rivers, lakes and seas of red hot lava; folks of red lightning thundered in the distance and even from this far, Sebastian could see people being chased by horde of hellhounds, whipped by fiery whips and a lot more worse tortures.

"I wonder what they had done." Sebastian whispered.

"If I remembered correctly, the spirit in line 2 is a racist who discriminated and killed black people just because he thinks they were stupid and violent." Caitlin replied as she thought. "The one in line 1 is a very notorious rapist and homophobe. He killed gay boys and raped lesbian girls before killing them, using the name of their God as always, like those people in Uganda, and shelter pedophiles."

"That's sickening!" Sebastian said in disgust.

"Indeed. That's why he's being dragged to the back. It's the way towards Tartarus." Caitlin agreed. "The guy in line 2 was not as sinned as the one in line 1 so he was sentenced to the Fields of Punishment."

"What about those who do good? Like the heroes." Sebastian asked.

"They go to Elysium, there." Cisco said, pointing to the possibly only happy part of the Underworld in the far right: a piece of land hidden behind a white wall with different landforms, hills, valleys, plains, teeming with life. Lush spring green grass and forest covered the entire land, dotted with shimmering rivers and crystal clear blue lakes, an underground sea could be seen in the far end; flowers of all colours and forms blossomed with beautiful birds, butterflies and dragonflies dancing in the air. Higher above, snowy peaks and volcanoes with a more gentle temper rose up to the blue sky and one mountain top was hidden in the white clouds. Architectures from all time period in history made up a neighbourhood with laughter and cheers could be heard.

"See the peak hidden in the clouds? That's the Isles of the Blessed, for those who had chosen to reincarnate three times and achieved Elysium three times." Cisco said. "That's the place every one of us wants to go."

"It's quite depressing that Elysium is so small compared to the rest of the Underworld." Sebastian commented.

"Don't be silly." Caitlin soothed. "Look how many people are there in the Asphodel Fields. Many of them are unwilling to get judged because they've been told for all their lives that they're evil or outcast or sinned or a failure over something they have no control of, like their skin colour, weight, sexuality, any kind of disability, even for something as minor as some habits. If all of them were judged, true, the Fields of Punishment will grow but so will this paradise. I'm confident that many of them are good enough to reach Elysium. Just because the older generation or some religion didn't like them, doesn't mean they are not good in their hearts."

"And many of them believed what they had been told is the ultimate truth, a black and white scenario that only existed in their stupidity." A new voice rang and the group jumped. Sue Sylvester was standing behind them, a cruel smirk on her face.

"Uh… Hi…? Coach…?" Sebastian gulped as he stood in front of his companions. The Fury's smirk just got wider.

"Hello, my dear. Would you need a helping hand?"

"Helping hand? Why would we-" Skylar jumped in.

"Do you seriously think you can get pass the security system and hide from the ghouls and hellhounds?" Sue Sylvester challenged. "Lord Hades is expecting you and he offered me to take you guys to the palace without much trouble."

"Okay…" Sebastian agreed uncomfortably.

"Cool. Let's get moving." Sue said and started marching towards the gate with the group anxiously following behind. Cerberus's three heads snapped up as they approached. The huge animal started snarling, baring the fangs. But Sue just held up her hand.

"Sit!" She ordered and the three-headed dog turned its penetrating gaze towards the Fury. Recognizing her was his friend, Cerberus sat obediently and started barking, like a puppy seeing its master coming. Sue, however, paid no attention to that.

"Buddy, you better behave. These four are our guests." She said coldly as she moved towards the detector at line no. 3, Cerberus twisted his heads towards her, trying to get her attention.

"Leave me alone, I don't have time to play with you." The Fury snapped as she tapped several buttons on the panel and deactivated the detector. The monster whined and when he got no reactions from her, he lay down and Sebastian believed the monster was sad and lonely. After all, the ruler of the Underworld and his subordinates were probably way too busy to spend time with the dog. Sebastian suddenly felt bad for the monster. He wanted to go up and pat its nose but was too afraid to do so. He just stood there as Cerberus turned its gaze towards him, blood red staring into deep sea-green and back. He felt they could continue their staring contest if Sue didn't bark at him.

" _Sebastian Smythe! What are you waiting for?! Come here!_ " Sebastian turned and saw his companions had already passed the border and were waiting for him next to Sue. Turing around to the monster again, Sebastian gave it a smile before hurrying over to the border.

The group walked through the Underworld under the leading of a Fury, also known as Sue Sylvester. Sebastian was getting more restless as they walked past the path leading to Tartarus. He had dreamt about it twice and now he was close to it. He silently prayed to the Gods that nothing bad happen as he hurried up to his companions. Unfortunately, the Fates were never too kind. Just the moment he caught up to Cisco, an unseen force grabbed onto him, like an invisible hands striking out from the darkness, took hold of his ankles and started dragging him backward. The son of Poseidon grunted as he lost his balance and thumped onto the stone floor. The force strengthened and was picking up speed.

" **Sebastian!** " He heard Caitlin screamed and saw Cisco, Skylar and Sue running towards him but the distance between the two were getting larger.

" _What's the matter with him?!_ " Cisco shouted in the distance.

" _How am I supposed to know?!_ " Came Skylar's angry reply.

A sharp turn and his companions and the Fury were lost from Sebastian's view as the drag continued to pick up speed. He was now being dragged down a slope with increasing slope. The walls narrowed to only three people could fit and the light from the torches on the wall turned from a faint blue to an ominous red. The stalactites hanging above now appeared as a frightening dark and got even more rugged. The ground was becoming barren, no grasses or trees or wooden fences, just black barren rocks with unforgiving edges. Sebastian felt his exposed skin got scratched as he was dragged across them with brutal force and speed, leaving a trail of blood behind. He could hear the screams and shouts from his companions but he was not sure if they could reach him in time.

The tunnel got darker and colder and had a distinctive smell down there. Sebastian couldn't tell what it was distinctively, but it was ancient, evil, full of rage, hatred, bloodthirsty and yearning for revenge and destruction.

And then, he saw it: A huge dark cavern with an enormous chasm that seemed to plummet towards a bottomless abyss, the entrance of Tartarus. He was being dragged in! He had to do something to save himself! Sebastian tried to grab at anything within his reach but there's nothing big and solid enough to slow him down. It was just like what happened in his dreams… Wait! Dreams! How did he manage to get away from the grip in his dream?!

His hands flew to his pocket and found what he needed: his swords. Sebastian took out Riptide and stabbed it hard and deep into the ground. That did manage to slow him down and he was now caught in a giant tug-of-war. He was on the losing end because deep in his mind, Sebastian knew he would eventually let go because of fatigue. But a new ray of hope was within his reach: his companions were very close. Skylar was the first one to appear, he froze dead when he saw the place but he immediately resumed running and grabbed onto his wrists. Cisco, Caitlin and Sue soon turned up and joined the force but Sebastian was still slowly sliding down the edge.

What saved the son of Poseidon was Skylar's lightning. As soon as he realized their help was not working, Skylar let go of Sebastian's hand and summoned two bolts of lightning. It crashed onto the solid rock between the chasm and Sebastian's feet. A cry of rage could be heard and Sebastian could move his feet again. With a final yank, Caitlin, Cisco and Sue pulled the son of Poseidon away from the ultimate fall. The three engulfed Sebastian in a hug.

"You okay?" Caitlin softly asked. Numbly, Sebastian nodded.

"Quite."

"Is this what you've been dreaming?" Cisco whispered as the group turned to look at the huge chasm.

"Ye… yes…" Sebastian's voice was a bit higher than usual, it was also shaky. "And… and… and…"

"And what?" Skylar tightened his hug as Caitlin whispered comforting words to the shaking Sebastian.

"It's… it's whispering… right now…" The deep sea-green eyes were filled with terror as the heads turned towards the pit. And there it was… a malicious, deep, evil voice, chanting with ancient words most of them had never heard, coming from somewhere deep below, from the abyss. It was faint, seemed so far away, but with so much power it rocked through the very bottom of their souls.

"Come, we need to go." Sue said quietly and somewhat nervously, which was extremely for a Fury.

" _Lord Hades must be informed of this…_ " She muttered to herself as the trio helped Sebastian got to his feet. They started to back up the tunnel, away from the chasm and the chants. Skylar, who had been carrying the backpack all the time, felt it got heavier. Back in the pit, the voice got louder, angrier and more powerful. The group broke into a run just as a gust of bone-chilling wind, not due to temperature, blasted out from the pit, like a black hole had formed in the pit and was determined to pull Aether from the high heavens into the pit. The group dropped to their knees and started crawling up the slope. Sue cursed in ancient Greek and spread out her wings. She flew herself over the four demigods and swiped them up in one arm. Flapping the bat-like wings furiously, she shot through the narrow tunnel, back to the Fields of Asphodel. The demigods could not feel the pull from the gale now, but it still echoed from the tunnel and a faint wail of outrage was mixed in the wind.

"Is… is that what I think it is?" Skylar panted as they collapsed onto the road.

"I'm not sure…" Sebastian was too busy catching his breath. "I think coach may have a better answer…"

"Actually, I don't." Sue replied coldly. "And I don't even think Lord Hades has a clear answer either. But either way, you guys need to go. My boss is probably getting impatient. Just walked down the road and you would reach your destination."

Then, the Fury disappeared into thin air as the group looked at each other with uneasiness. But without other options, they walked down the road and true to the Fury's word, the road did lead them to the palace of Hades: a huge fortress with glittering black walls at least two stories high, with abstract engravings and gemstones embedded in them. In front of the demigods, was a pair of black iron gates, standing wide open with a fiery colour glowing from the inside. Passing through the metal gates, the group entered the garden of Persephone, and embraced the tempting smell of ripe fruit. Fighting the desire to devour one, they hurried through the sweet smelling garden and up the stairs leading to the main door. What lay beyond the iron door caught their breath.

The hall was magnificent. It was like the abandoned mine of Moria in " ** _Lord of The Rings_** ", only it was neater, brighter and at least a hundred times grander in scale and size. The place was mostly empty, except the occasional passing of spirits and ghouls, skeletons with soldier uniforms were seen guarding each side door. Red Greek fire torches were installed on the gigantic columns, illuminating the grand hall so the group could see two skeleton soldiers were standing in front of a set of black iron door towering up to the ceiling. As they approached it, they noticed that Skylar was lagging behind.

"The backpack is very heavy." He panted.

"What? But we didn't have a lot of things in it except some clothes and supplies." Cisco asked with a frown.

"Should we check if someone has snuck something in without us noticing?" Caitlin asked in worry.

"No need for that." Skylar panted as he adjusted the backpack to a more comfortable position. "I guess it's just because I'm exhausted and shaken from the… previous incident."

Suppressing a new sense of dread down their stomach, the group turned to look at the closed iron door. Just when they were thinking if they should knock on it or talk to the skeleton soldiers guarding, the door opened on its own.

"Wow…" Cisco whispered.

The throne room of Hades was nothing the group had imagined. They had been expecting large columns made from thousands of skulls and bones with red or green candles as lighting, fountains of magma, graves as decorations, spiky black throne and dancing monsters, ghouls and spirits. What they got was a floor entirely made of deep blue marble slabs; black granite columns with diamonds and gemstones as big as Sebastian's fist were embedded; candles burning with a clear blue flame were inserted onto bronze candle-stands on the table, the columns and the colossal chandelier, pecked with precious gemstones, hanging down the ceiling. In the back of the room, under a huge sculpture of a sceptre, a symbol of the God of Underworld, were two thrones. One was smaller with Promulgates as decoration. The other one was made of black and bluish black marble slabs, with its master sitting on it.

Hades was in a size of a giant, three times higher than an average mortal. He wore a shimmering black silk robe. His short black hair was well-combed. But what made up Sebastian's biggest impression was his aura. He first thought the God would be radiating horror, death and despair, things that could easily drive people mad within seconds so the God could send the tattered souls straight down towards Tartarus.

In reality, there were much more in the God's aura. Hades still radiated some horror, death and despair as pictures of the unexpected people killed by all the crazy terrorists; the 6 million Jews executed by the Nazis Germany; all of those who perished during the Crusades and the two world wars; people succumbing to Black Death in the Middle Ages flashed in front of his eyes. But there were also something more, there were also scenes of heroes who fought to their death to protect those they loved and left a memory lingering in people's heart; people achieving their life goals and passed away in their sleep peacefully, with no regrets and surrounded by their families and friends.

" _So this is they say about death… It can be ugly as well as beautiful… violent as well as peaceful_ _…_ " Sebastian thought as Hades boomed.

" **So you come.** " The voice of the God of Underworld echoed in the giant empty hall. It was cold, indifferent and more importantly, packed with power and maturity. After all, Hades was the oldest among the Big Three. " **Do you have my helm?** "

"Unfortunately, no, Lord Hades. We don't even know where Lord Zeus's lightning bolt is. But we think-" Sebastian replied honestly but was cut off by Hades.

" **You don't know?** " Hades's face turned darker as the horror section in his aura intensified. " **Young one, lying to a God will do you no good and is the most senseless thing to do.** "

"What do you mean-" Sebastian frowned and suddenly widened his eyes. He heard Caitlin gasped. Sebastian spun around and looked at his companions who looked back at him with wide eyes. Skylar suddenly ripped off the backpack and Cisco opened the zipper. There, in the light blue backpack, cramped together with their supplies, was the lightning bolt, giving off a blinding white light with sparks of electricity shooting out of both ends.

"How did it get in there?!" Skylar demanded, looking at Sebastian.

"And how the fuck should I know?!" Sebastian hissed back. "The backpack was given by-"

The son of Poseidon cut off in his midsentence as the truth dawned upon him and his companions. Anger started welling up his chest and Sebastian looked up to the ceiling, and shouted on top of his lungs.

" **ARES!** "

His shout bounced off the hard stones and the companions felt their ears rang for several seconds. He was also not aware of someone was watching him in the back of the room, shaking his head with a grimace on his face and rubbed his still ringing ears as he whispered quietly.

" _Oh man, he's pissed… This is gonna get ugly…_ "

Taking deep breaths to calm down, Sebastian opened his eyes and looked at the God of Underworld. His eyes were now a brilliant blue burning with fury.

"My Lord, I believe that we have found out who stole your helm and orchestrated this madness. We are going to find him and confront him. Therefore, my companions and I will need to leave now. But I swear on River Styx, when we finished the confrontation, we will be back and give you back your helm." Sebastian said loudly and Hades nodded after hearing the oath.

" **Fine. I will give you one more chance. Do NOT come back to me empty hand this time.** " He boomed as Sebastian took out the bag. He took one out and smashed it on his feet. The salty smell of the ocean and sea breeze filled the air as a white bubbling mass accumulated around his feet.

"Take us to where Ares currently is." He said and the sea foam started migrating so it encased the group's feet. Seconds later, the group was encased in a giant bubble. It started rising and raced towards the roof of the Underworld, towards those sharp stalactites. Caitlin, Cisco and Skylar shielded themselves but Sebastian, who learnt how the pearls work from Oceanus, stood still. After a flash of white light and a splash, the group entered the complete darkness.

**TBC…**

***This is how Charon look in the studio (Oh, Paul Bettany is such an awesome actor. <3 <3 <3)**

[ ](http://images-cdn.moviepilot.com/images/c_fill,h_800,w_1280/t_mp_quality/apiknlgme2fc7jemzzpz/paul-bettany-was-having-a-really-bad-day-then-joss-whedon-called-and-changed-everything-401134.jpg)

**And this is what he morphed into when they crossed the River Styx.**

[ ](http://pic.pimg.tw/redbell0326/1360379381-3427933433.jpg)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you guys think? How do you guys feel about the interaction between Sebastian and Skylar? Like what Caitlin said, the ship will sail. *Applause* And how do you guys feel about the fact that Cisco ships JARVIS with Tony Stark?
> 
> Songs/Background music used:
> 
> Reviews are loved.


	12. The Fight On The Beach

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So in a beach not far away from Los Angeles, Sebastian fought against the God who tricked him and his companions.
> 
> This story is NOT for Blaine, Klaine and Finn lovers. OOC is bound to happen. Don’t like, don’t read. Flames will be thrown into the Pacific Ocean.
> 
> Warning: Violence.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing other than the plot and my own OCs. Emily, Julian and the relationship of Juliper belong to Cacophonylights. Carmichael belongs to my dearest friend, Eraman. Some settings in the story belong to Rick Riordan. I also DO NOT own the songs I used in this story.

Skylar closed his eyes tight as the bubble carrying him and his companions slammed into the pointy ceiling of the Underworld, he was expecting that this would be his end. But nothing came, he was still rising. Opening his eyes, he saw the bubble penetrated the solid ocean floor, and continued soaring upward. Seconds later, the giant bubble emerged from the deep and burst. Sebastian pulled Caitlin onto his back as each of his hand grabbed hold onto Cisco and Skylar and swam back to the shore of Los Angeles, which was several hundred metres away. Normally it would be exhausting but Sebastian was the son of the sea, it gave him power and absorbed his tiredness. As they came closer to the beach, they noticed the city was glowing in the dark, not only from the lighting but also from fire. The black night sky was orange from the blazing flames dotting all over the city and her neighbourhoods. Plumes of smoke rose high into the sky and there were some damage of properties.

As they came ashore, they overheard people shouting in the darkness, about the earthquake that struck suddenly. A 5.0 Mw tremor rocked through the City of Angels but luckily no one was hurt or dead.

“Remember me never to piss you off.” Cisco deadpanned as Sebastian dried their clothes by pulling the water out of the clothes. The said person looked at him in confusion.

“What? What does that have to do with me?”

“Dude, you’re the son of Poseidon, who is, apart from the Lord of the seas, horses and storms, the God of **earthquakes**.” The son of Hephaestus rolled his eyes. Sebastian blushed as he realised that he possibly triggered the earthquake when he yelled in the Underworld in his anger.

“Oops…”

“Well, at least no one was hurt or killed. You guys all okay?” Caitlin combed her hair and checked on her companions.

“I think so.” Skylar threw the backpack onto the sand, glaring at a point behind the other three’s back. The rest of the group noticed the intense glare and turned to see the God who tricked them standing not far away from them, leaning onto his motorcycle with the same smirk they saw at the diner. Feeling his anger flared up, Sebastian stormed towards the war god with his companions closely behind him.

“How did it go, lads?” Ares clapped.

“You fucking bastard! You’re the psycho who stole the helm **and** the lightning bolt!” Sebastian accused as he stopped right in front of the war god.

“I didn’t steal the bolt, I just took it from the thief who gave me this ingenious idea.” Ares held up his hands. “But the helm, yes. It’s my doing, part of my game.”

As if on cue, he took out a cap from his bike which immediately transformed into a black helmet, glittering in the darkness. It was the lost property of Hades: the Helm of Darkness.

“And what game did that stupid thief offer you?” Sebastian spat. “A full raging war among the Big Three? And the rest of the Olympus has to choose side? They’re your family!”

“And that’s the fun part, family dispute is my favourite. Best kind of war and the bloodiest.” Ares licked his lips.

“You’re a sick asshole.” Sebastian gritted his teeth.

“I guess you’re right on one thing, Sebastian.” Caitlin piped in. “He really can only think of blood, blood, blood; war, war, war and fight, fight, fight.”

“Watch your mouth, girl.” Ares snarled as he stepped towards them. The group walked backward, towards the sea. “I have battled with your mother in the past. For the moment, she is neutral but you can be a very good reason for her to join the fight.”

“Oh, you mean the Trojan War? The time when you were stupid enough to go against my mom and Lady Hera, only to get punched in the face and left the scene with your tail between your legs? I guess I give you too much credit on the ability to learn. My mother had fought against you **and** she won, and she will win again.” Caitlin finished proudly, for her mother. They were now standing in the middle of a deserted beach, with the fire raging in the distant Los Angeles.

Ares snarled again but then his face turned blank, like there was someone whispering in his body. It only last for a second before the nasty smirk returned.

“I’ll let that go for now, chick. But for you…” The war god turned to look at Sebastian with a penetrating stare. “I can’t have you undo the plan and stopped my fun, so I will have to kill you.”

“I’d like to see you try, asshole.” Sebastian spitted on Ares’s feet and the war god snarled. He snapped his fingers and a huge wild boar, the size of a van, exploded out of the sand. It bared its fangs and glared at the son of Poseidon. Caitlin was going to tell Sebastian to run when Skylar stopped her.

“Don’t!” He whispered to his two companions. “This is what the prophecy has been mentioning. **_Success or fail lies on the shoulder of the unclaimed_** … We need to have faith in him.”

Caitlin and Cisco could only hope to the Fates that Sebastian made it as the tension increased dramatically. Sebastian glared back at the beast bravely as he took out both Riptide and Turbulent.

“I’d suggest you surrender, mortal.” Ares said smugly. “You’re not at my level.”

“In your pathetic dreams, perhaps? You nitwit.” Sebastian snapped as the boar charged. Sebastian jumped out of its path. The beast turned its head towards him and charged again. This time, the demigod didn’t have enough time to dodge so he slashed his swords, cutting off the boar’s tusk. It roared and charged at him again, Sebastian jumped again, only to almost get slashed by a vulture, which the god of war had summoned when no one was paying attention. What a sly bitch.

Narrowly missing the bird of prey, Sebastian landed onto the solid ground again. He stepped his foot hard on the sand and the ground shook. His companions and the boar lost balance and fell. Using this as his opportunity, Sebastian threw Turbulent at the boar, hitting it right in the eye. The beast bellowed in pain and Caitlin screamed as she pointed at some point behind Sebastian. Dodging down and rolling sideward, Sebastian missed the sharp claws of the vulture as it shot through the sand. The bird of prey spiralled around him, its yellow eyes never leaving him. Sebastian knew he had no chance to fight it in the air so he utilized his power over the sea instead. He rose his right hand, and a hand entirely made of water surged up, and swallowed the bird of prey like a cocoon. The vulture struggled to get away from its watery coffin but failed miserably as Sebastian shoved his hand down hard and the water ball shot back into the sea.

“ **Bye bitch!** ” Sebastian shouted just as the bird screeched in terror as it was swallowed up by the sea. A wail roared behind him and Sebastian spun around. The boar had got back to its feet, Turbulent was still embedded in its right eye.

“ **How are you still alive?** ” Sebastian demanded as he sent out another seismic wave to distract the beast. He jumped forward when it tried to regain balance, landed on its neck and thrust Riptide deep into its skull. The monstrous boar bellowed for one more time before it crumbled into the sand and melted right away.

The sea breeze blew strongly, carrying moisture and droplets of seawater inland. They all gave power and strength to Sebastian as he straightened up and yelled at Ares.

“Come fight me.” The son of Poseidon called out calmly but forcefully. “Or are you just going to prove to us that you’re such a **coward** you need to hide behind some pets when you faced demigods like me?”

Ares was livid as his sunglasses melted from the intense heat of his eyes.

“I should turn you into-”

“A stray dog or stray cat.” Sebastian cut him off in disdain. “Really, that’s the best thing you can get from your tiny mind? Go back to kindergarten and take your education more seriously, you fool of a took.”

“You filthy little shit, you are really asking to be smashed.” Ares sneered.

“And **you** are asking to be kicked in your godly ass!” Sebastian snapped. “Here is the deal. Do whatever you want to me if I lose, but if I win, you need to leave me and my friends the fuck alone. And the helm as well as the bolt shall be returned to their owners.”

“How would you like get smashed?!” The god of war snarled as he took out a baseball bat made entirely of hot bronze. Sebastian just raised his middle finger at the god as he retrieved his swords. Meanwhile, Caitlin, Cisco and Skylar noticed people were crowding on the end of the beach, pointing at them. Obviously, they recognised Sebastian as the fugitive on the news and called the police.

“Guys, we have spectators!” Caitlin shouted just as Ares snarled at the son of Poseidon.

“Have you thought of your farewell words to your pawns? I have unlimited strength and immortality, and fighting is my field.” 

“Have you thought of your excuses of helping the thief and orchestrating this madness when you met your daddy? You’re really getting your ass whipped for that, sweetheart.” Sebastian pulled up the smirk he always used to piss people off. As expected, the Greek God sneered and so began the fight.

* * *

Sebastian had got some experience in fighting after combating the harpy, the Minotaur, Medusa, the Chimera and Echidna, but fighting with a God was totally different. There were so many times Ares almost got his weapon, a giant two-handed sword made of reflective bronze and a ruby red as the blood pumping through a heart, on Sebastian but the demigod managed to either deflect it or jump out of the way. The spectating crowd grew in size as the Cops and reporters arrived. They always had the perfect timing, yeah, noticed the sarcasm in it.

Using a fraction of second in Sebastian's distraction, Ares managed to land his sword's hilt square on the demigod's chest. The force was so immense the bones cracked with a painful snap. If he was a mortal, he would have dropped dead but the force also knocked him into the churning waves of the sea. Immediately, the wounds and fractures healed.

“ _There, officer! See?!_ ” Somebody yelled in the background.

“ _It’s the kid on the news_ _… this is bad_ _…_ ” Someone said in a gruff voice, maybe a cop or a random citizen.

“No shit, Sherlock!” Sebastian hissed as he steadied himself in the water, feeling it touching his skin, its power seeped into his flesh and blood and soul. It almost seemed that he could command the waves and the tide if he wanted to.

“ _They are armed!_ ” Another cop shouted into his walkie-talkie. “ _We need backup!_ ”

“Silly bitch, your guns won’t stand a chance against a being like him!” Sebastian rolled his eyes as he found himself in a violent combat against Ares, the Greek God of war. More sirens wailed as the backup of the police arrived.

“Oh, this is going to be a pain in the ass.” Sebastian hissed as he saw the people and reporters were filming the event. His temper was flaring and the sea got even rougher. Suddenly, an idea struck him. If everything went to the way he planned, he might end this chaos earlier, but first, he needed to get Ares distracted. He was going to call for his companions for help when he noticed they were struggling against the cops who tried to hold them down. More sirens could be heard as more police force arrived. Okay, so his companions were out of the equation. Fortunately, the cops were more than happy to do this job for him, even though it was unintentional.

“ ** _Drop the guns! Set them on the ground! Now!_** ” A police voice boomed through a megaphone. Ares snarled and turned his fiery gaze towards the crowd. It was the distraction Sebastian needed! Instantly, he willed the sea to listen to him. The waves stopped crashing ashore and the sea breeze died down, but through his connection to the water, Sebastian could feel the energy piling up and a wall of water started to appear on the surface, but it was still well hidden in the dark.

“ **This is a private matter!** ” Ares boomed, his voice packed with power, menace, fury and was more god-like. “ **Outsiders shall not interfere! Be gone!** ”

He swiped his hand and a roll of fireballs erupted from the sand, close to the crowd and the cop cars. The police barely had time to dive for cover before the flame ignited the gasoline in the vehicles, causing a volley of explosions. The crowd screamed and scattered, the reporters retreated a bit but most of their cameras were destroyed. The war god roared in laughter as he enjoyed the view and the fear he sparked.

“ **Hey! Leave the people out of this!** ” Sebastian shouted, never losing his concentration over the control of the sea. He could feel the wall of water was more than 15 metres high now. Everything was ready, all he now needed was the right moment to unleash the fury of the sea. Sebastian leant himself onto his two swords, acting like he was exhausted. Grinning smugly and arrogantly, Ares slowly came forward, like a predator waiting for the final attack on its exhausted prey. The war god raised his sword and Sebastian let go of his control. Using the water as a springboard, he leapt right over Ares’ head and landed safely on the beach. The stunned war god, on the other hand, was slammed by a 20 metres high wall of water. The force of the water immense enough to knock him off the ground and the surge of water then sent to right next to Sebastian's feet who stabbed Riptide onto Ares’ shoulder, puncturing the sun-kissed yet scared skin.

The roar coming from the war god was like the detonation of nuclear bomb, a huge blast of wind, smelling gunpowder and flesh and blood exploded around him, violently pushing the sea around away for more than 200 metres. The remaining spectators, police and reporters were blown to the ground, the remaining recorders were completely destroyed. The golden blood of the gods, Ichor, spilled out the wound of Ares’ shoulder. It soaked the god’s garment and seeped into the wet sand as the sea rushed back, reclaiming its place. For a moment, no one could tell what the Greek God was thinking. His face was a storm of emotion: pain, shock, disbelief and hatred. He probably had never imagined that a mere demigod would manage to wound him physically and emotionally, on his pride.

He set his fiery eyes onto Sebastian who glared back at him fiercely. He started walking towards him, muttering curses in ancient Greek all the way when he suddenly stopped, like something prevented him from the taking one more step. With reluctance and hatred, Ares lowered his weapon, but his eyes, burning with hatred, never left him.

“You have made an enemy, demigod.” He whispered, but everyone in the group could hear him. “You fate has been sealed. In time, you will feel my curse, Sebastian Smythe. Beware.”

“Give me Hades’ helm, and be gone.” Sebastian replied harshly.

The war god threw the helm of darkness between them as his body started to glow. Sebastian raised his hands and a wall of water soared up between him and the War God, but for safety reason, Sebastian closed his eyes until the blinding light died down. Sebastian lowered the water shield. Ares was nowhere to be seen; His motorcycle was gone as well. All that remained was Hades’ helm of darkness standing on the sand, the sky brightened as dawn arrived, and the sea became quiet again.

“It’s over.” Sebastian declared as he put his two swords back into his pocket. Caitlin, Cisco and Skylar let out of the breath they’re holding and rushed towards him.

“You give us a huge scare, young man!” Caitlin hissed as she pulled him in a hug.

“How’re you feeling now?” Cisco asked.

“Like I can fall asleep right now for years…” The son of Poseidon whispered as he tripped on his feet, only to get caught by Skylar. Normally, Sebastian would struggle to get out of the grip but he was too tired.

“What do we do now?” Cisco said as he picked up the helm of darkness, which morphed into a baseball cap.

“We should return the helm to Hades and the bolt back to the drama queen.” Sebastian whispered. “We’ll go to Hades first… I promised him.”

“Alright, let’s-”

“ **Freeze!** ”

The group groaned as a police officer came up behind them. He didn’t draw his gun but his hand was resting on it.

“You four have some serious explaining to do. I will take you down town.”

“Ugh, fine!” Sebastian snapped as he rubbed his face against Skylar’s muscular chest. “Do it quickly, I wanna sleep.”

* * *

They were placed in a grey room when they were sent to the station and were being questioned for what had happened for the past week. The group were amused how mortals wrap their minds around things so they could fit into their own reality and how easy the tide of their opinions could be changed. One moment earlier, they were being called a group of psycho, terrorists and monsters who exploded trains, buses and schools. One moment later, they were terrified innocent beings who were trying their best to get away from their kidnapper, the wanted criminal Wally Sparta, all the way from New York City to Los Angeles. But to cut it short, the group were let go. Walking down the street, they went into a deserted alley and teleported to the Underworld, using the pearls. And needless to say, Hades was pleased.

“ **Well, you did a good job.** ” The God of the Underworld boomed as Sebastian handed him his helm, but the demigod had something else in mind.

“With all due respect, my lord. You once told me you **will** return my brother if I finish the quest for you. Now, **where is he?** ” He looked around, searching the familiar shape of his brother.

Hades just chuckled in amusement.

“ **You sound exactly like what I have been told.** ” Hades said and snapped his fingers. “ **You don’t have much patience, like my brother.** ”

The air around Hades started to shift and something began to materialise. A man began to take shape, he took in a huge gasp and opened his eyes, revealing those beautiful bluish-green orbs that Sebastian had missed terribly. Tears started to well up in Sebastian’s eyes as the man croaked.

“Sebby?”

Sebastian could wait no longer, he leapt forward into his brother’s arms and hugged him tight.

“Jules! Brother!” He sobbed as Julian hugged him back tightly. “I miss you so much! I’m so worry about you!”

“I know, Sebby. I know, I miss you too.” Julian’s voice cracked, tears were swimming in his eyes too. “I’m here, I’m fine.”

The two reunited brothers touched each other's face and torso to make sure it was not only a cruel dream, their brother who they treasured most was real and was standing in front of them.

“ **As much as I hate to break this up, you still have another quest to finish.** ” Hades’ voice boomed, breaking the sweet family reunion.

“Oh right. Drama Queen’s bolt.” Sebastian sighed. “I’m not sure if we can meet the deadline, we have used up all the pearls.”

“And it will take us days to go back to New York.” Caitlin calculated.

“ **Ah, don’t worry, demigods.** ” Hades boomed again and his voice now sounded a bit… mischievous? “ **I think these may help.** ”

A ghoul came forward and handed the group four tickets. Everyone in the group were shocked.

“You… You want us to fly?” Sebastian was so shocked he forgot the manners.

“ **Indeed.** ” Hades boomed. “ **There is no way you can make it if you take a train. Plus, it's always fun to piss off that drama queen. And don't forget, he can't punish you because one: you retrieved the bolt, he now owed you a debt; and two: he DIDN’T have the bolt now.** ”

Okay, that’s a very tempting idea…

“Uhm… I have to ask someone first though.” Sebastian turned to look at Skylar who merely shrugged.

“ **It seemed your concerned party has given his approval.** ” Hades boomed with a smirk. “ **And it’s gonna get a bit dizzy. After all, you need to get back as fast as possible, right? It would be ugly if you’re late.** ”

With another snap of finger, shadows suddenly welled up around the five people, swallowing them up in complete darkness, and their surprised yelps as the shadow ball teleported back to the mortal world, somewhere close to Los Angeles International Airport. Hades sighed and then looked up in alarm when he sensed another powerful being in the room.

“ **I’m impressed.** ” A woman’s voice rang. Her voice had this stern maternity power in it. “ **You rarely show mercy, let alone to a mortal.** ”

“ **I’m just paying a debt I owe him and his brother.** ” Hades replied, turning to face the woman who elegantly stepped out of the shadow. “ **And I’m pretty sure that none of them remembered what they have done.** ”

“ **Then why don’t you return him to the mortal world?** ” This beautiful woman had large eyes and long brown hair.

“ **You know soon after I heard someone stole my brother’s thing, I noticed someone had stolen my helm as well.** ”

“ **Yeah, I remembered that. We all went to Tartarus to check on the walls of the cells holding… father…** ” The woman said with a thin sense of disgust and fear. “ **It has been weakening for eons and we went back to discuss how to reinforce the walls. But when we came back, my husband found his bolt was stolen.** ”

“ **And Zeus blamed it on Poseidon…** ” Hades rolled his eyes. “ **After thousands of years, he is still childish as a baby.** ”

“ **Indeed.** ” The woman, or Hera, shook her head. “ **But what does it have to do with this young man?** ”

“ **I healed his injuries to repay the debt of gratitude. They might have forgotten about it but I do remember how they stop a group of gangster bullied my son. The reason why I didn't send him directly back the mortal world, is to let Sebastian prove himself that he is the one in the prophecy. I have been suspecting that the moment I first saw him, the amount of power he radiated is much stronger than I have ever seen.** " Hades explained. " **At first, I don’t know why Poseidon didn’t claim him. I mean, he knew that you and Hestia know he has another demigod child, he also knew that Persephone and I knew his new born child, even Amphitrite and Triton knew the presence of this demigod. But after finding out about my son, I know why. Zeus will smite him without second thought and I don’t have a good reason to stop him. And now it's Sebastian's chance to prove himself.** ”

“ **And by that time, Zeus won’t have a reason to kill him because he actually owes Poseidon and his son for finding his bolt. Hmm… Poseidon is very smart, unlike how Athena always scolded him. And speaking of which, I’m very surprised that you two fell to the trick: Mortals managed to get two of the most powerful Gods drunk by spiking their drinks… Unbelievable…** ” Hera said in a somewhat amused tone while Hades groaned.

“ **Ugh! Don’t remind me.** ” The lord of the underworld grumbled.

“ **Yeah, you didn’t tell anyone that you also have a son except Persephone, me and Hestia. Well, Demeter, Poseidon and Amphitrite too but they found out by accident.** ” Hera laughed.

" **I was really freaked out by Demeter's reaction. I think she's going to boil me alive with all her cereals before throwing me into Tartarus.** " Hades shuddered. “ **Let's talk about something else, you seem to be very fond of this mortal. May I ask why?** ”

“ **He is willing and has been sacrificing everything, including his life, to keep his brother safe and happy. They are the one who valued each other more than anything; they are the one who really know and willing to carry out the true meaning of family.** ” Hera announced. “ **So after Poseidon claimed him his son when they were back at camp, I will also announce to everyone that I am going to be his patron. I will give him my blessing and he can stay in my cabin. If Poseidon doesn’t mind, he can stay with his brother in his cabin too.** ”

Hades raised his eyebrow in surprise.

" **Wow, you really change…** " He muttered.

" **Everything is constantly changing.** " Hera replied. " **And you also change too, don't you?** "

The Queen of the Gods smirked before saying goodbye to her brother and flashed out of the room. Hades sighed before resuming his busy work as the Lord of Underworld.

* * *

It might be just his own imagination, or perhaps it was real, for Sebastian felt the clouds were rumbling, like there was an angry storm wanting to lash out but was stopped by something else. But to be fair, he didn't pay much attention to it, because he was too busy snuggling in his brother's arms that was giving the warmth and security he desperately needed and miserably missed. He and his companions, together with Julian, were now sitting in first class seats of a more promising flight company, and they weren't really enjoying the flight. It had nothing to do with the quality of service, but being kept in such a confined environment made the demigods restless, not to mention Zeus the drama queen would smite those who dared to enter his domain, well, except Skylar. Speaking of which, the son of Zeus occupied the window seat and was staring out at the clouds and the high blue sky with longing eyes, like he wanted to go out, to fly on his own. Could he really fly? Sebastian was not sure, maybe he would ask him later, when they touched down. Right now, he just gave another content sigh as he nuzzled his face against his brother's chest. Julian just chuckled and ruffled his baby brother’s soft, brown hair. Caitlin and Cisco, on the other hand, were too busy drowning themselves with the hot chocolate provided by the friendly flight attendants. The rest of the 6-hour flight passed by peacefully. The demigods, except Skylar, let out a breath of relief when the plane finally touched down on LaGuardia Airport.

“Goodness gracious! I have never known that the feel of standing on solid ground can be this wonderful!” Cisco sighed as they ran out of the airport, missing the waiting reporters completely.

“Yeah, praise Gaea. My hands are getting numb.” Caitlin muttered as she flexed her hands.

“Is it really that bad?” Sebastian raised his eyebrow. “I only felt nervous when the plane took off, but other than that, I was actually quite fine.”

“Of course you felt that!” Caitlin snapped, but not really in anger. “You spent the entire time snuggling in your brother’s wonderful arms!”

“Oh really? Then that’s too bad, because Jules’s embraces are inclusive to me **only.** ” Sebastian said proudly as he leant against Julian.

“Sebby, you're not a child anymore, be more mature.” Julian sighed fondly.

“But Jules!” Sebastian whined and pouted when Julian gave him a serious look.

“Fine! But excuse me for missing my wonderful brother.” He humphed as the group got into a taxi and zipped down the road, to Olympus, or the Empire State Building, in mortal terms.

Once inside the building, Caitlin went up to the doorman, with the rest of the group closely following behind.

“2917 floor, please?” Caitlin asked and the doorman looked up from the huge book he was reading.

“No such floor, kids.”

“Oh, I know that floor exists, given the fact I have been there multiple times.” Caitlin replied seriously. “And I do believe that Lord Zeus will let us go up without an appointment since we have what he lost.”

Skylar came to the front and unzipped the backpack, the doorman looked inside and nodded.

“Okay.” He calmly replied as he elegantly got up from his seat and handed Caitlin a key card he got from a drawer of his desk.

“You know the rules, make sure no one else is in the elevator, except your group members.”

The group got into the elevator and once the doors were closed, Cisco took the key card from Caitlin and inserted it into a slot. A new button appeared on the panel, a bluish white disc with a 2917 embedded above it.

Cisco pressed the button and put the key card into his pocket. The elevator started moving upward with an orchestra playing in the air.

“Oh, ‘ _Pines of Rome_ ’ from ‘ ** _Fantasia 2000_** ’.” Sebastian mused.

“You’ve watched that movie?” Caitlin asked.

“Yeah, and ‘ _Pines of Rome_ ’ and ‘ _The Firebird Suite_ ’ are my favourite.” The son of Poseidon replied.

“What about the others?” Cisco piped in.

“The others… are not that impressive. The ‘ _Pomp & Circumstance_’, that is the Noah’s Ark segment, is grand in scale but I just can’t shrug off a feeling that it can be a bit boring. The same goes to ‘ _Rhapsody in Blue_ ’. The finale of ‘ _Carnival of the Animals_ ’ is a bit silly from my point of view. ‘ _The Sorcerer’s Apprentice_ ’ is not as eye-catching as the old one. ‘ _Symphony No. 5_ ’ is well… not as impressive as ‘ _Toccata and Fugue in D Minor_ ’ in the first movie.”

“So generally speaking, you like the old version of ‘ ** _Fantasia_** ’ more.” Skylar stated.

“Of course! That’s a freaking classic!” Sebastian screeched with wide eyes. “It’s the first Disney movie I watched and the very reason I fell in love with classical music and Disney itself!”

The elevator halted, telling the group that they had arrived. The doors slid open and Sebastian gasped at the sight.

Right in front of him, was a narrow walkway made of shining marble white as the clouds, in mid-air with the city of Manhattan down below. At the end of the walkway, was a stairway made of white marble decorated with gold and silver, extending up into the sky and disappeared into a cloud tower which was constantly changing shape from the wind.

“This is what Olympus looks like?” Sebastian whispered.

“Yes, but we’re not yet there. We need to climb up those stairs. Hidden in the clouds, is really Olympus.” Caitlin replied as the group started climbing the stairs. Once they passed through the cloud tower, Sebastian had the first glimpse of the home of the Gods. A mountain with snowy and glaciated summit. Palaces, mansions, shrines decorated the mountainside. The multi-storey architectures were all made of white-columned porticos, terraces plated with precious metals but mainly gold and silver, and inlaid by hundreds of bronze braziers. It was day time so no fire was in there, but Sebastian couldn’t imagine how beautiful it would be at night, when all the braziers lit up, between the starry sky above and the flourishing city of Manhattan below, setting each other off nicely and perfectly.

From where they stood, Sebastian could see how complicated the road system was, there were parks and gardens made of different trees and flowers. Fountains, streams and rivers flowed across every point of the city. An open-air market was situated on the bank of a river, giving the place more colours, on the other side of the market, was a wide road which led straight towards the peak of the mountain, where the largest palace resided. It was an Ancient Greek city in its full glory, not the ruins Sebastian saw in the photos, videos and books, which only served for the people to cherish the memory of the long lost past. It was real, and was teeming with life, just like how Athens looked like thousands of years ago, except the people residing in it were using modern technology as well. A group of satyrs were crowding around a huge television with an ‘ **H** ’ embedded at the back, playing Super Mario 3D World; several nymphs were walking along the shopping avenue, taking pictures with their smartphones and the Nine Muses, who were hosting a concert at the back of the street were using a giant Hi-Fi system. But generally speaking, everyone here was very relaxed, they didn’t rush and all those modern apparatus blended into this slow lifestyle splendidly, the perfect mixture of ancient and modern.

It seemed impossible, too real to be true, but every step Sebastian took, the slabs of marble; the trees; the flowers; the landscape; the clouds… everything was reminding him that he was not hallucinating. It was real, he was standing in Mount Olympus, the sacred place where the Greek Gods resided. The group were seemed to be in a celebrating mood as more ambrosia, nectar and lots of food from different places of the world were transported down the road.

“They’re not worried about the war?” Sebastian asked.

“They did, but words of you success in retrieving Zeus’s lightning bolt has arrived. You prevented another Trojan War from happening. This, of course, is worth celebrating.” Julian explained.

“How’d you know that?” Sebastian asked his brother.

“The moment you defeated Ares, the nymphs and satyrs had been thrilled. The voices of their cheering was so loud that it could heard in the Underworld.” The older Smythe smiled at his baby brother. “I’m so proud of you.”

Sebastian wanted to cry into his brother’s arms but this was not the best moment. Just wait until they got home, time was what they had.

The staircases leading to the highest palace was quite a walk and Sebastian couldn’t shrug off the feeling that he was tainting this sacred place. Luckily, his companions and brother were by his side, reassuring him. When they reached the palace, Sebastian looked back and saw the rest of Olympus were down there, with Manhattan further down, and the only thing that was higher than him, besides the architecture and the mountain behind him, was the sun, hanging in the crystal blue sky. It was a breath-taking picture and Sebastian now knew the meaning of ‘ _standing on top of the world_ ’.

“Okay, let’s get this quest done.” Sebastian told his companions as they walked down the central courtyard decorated with enormous statues of the Greek Gods and beautifully cut plants with a fountain located in the centre, and into the throne room. What would happen now? Would the drama queen drop his accusation? What would happen when he finally met his father? The formidable, powerful god of the mighty oceans: Poseidon.

**TBC…**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.N.: Wow, one more chapter, and we’re done! This is my first completed multi-chaptered story! I can’t really believe I finish this! For those who kept reading and gave me reviews, I can’t tell you how much I love you, how important you are to me. *Bow*
> 
> Songs/Background music used:
> 
> Pines of Rome – Ottorino Respighi  
> -From “Fantasia 2000”
> 
> Reviews are loved.


	13. A Family's Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, guys… the last chapter of this story. After the fight with Ares, Sebastian will now settle some loose ends, sing some songs back at camp, and then he’s done, or is it?
> 
> This story is NOT for Blaine, Klaine and Finn lovers. OOC is bound to happen. Don’t like, don’t read. Flames will be thrown into the Pacific Ocean.
> 
> Warning: Violence and some blood-shed warning.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing other than the plot and my own OCs. Emily, Julian and the relationship of Juliper belong to Cacophonylights. Carmichael belongs to my dearest friend, Eraman. Some settings in the story belong to Rick Riordan. I also DO NOT own the songs I used in this story.

The throne room of the Olympian was enough to make the Grand Central Station looked like a little storage room. Massive columns, much more massive than those Sebastian saw in the Underworld rose up to the ceiling, gilded with passing clouds. In the middle, a giant burning hearth was located with a chair located next to it. Around the hearth were twelve thrones arranged in the same way the cabins and tables did in the camp. Each of the throne seat was the size of a giant, the same the group saw in the Underworld, and they were unique in their designs, like the cabins had different looks, depending on who their patron was. Almost all of the seats were empty except two of them: the main throne, in a shape of an eagle, with lightning folks and storm clouds decoration; and the one to its immediate left, with waves and jumping dolphins and galloping horses. Sebastian started sweating as he approached the two Gods. The tension in the room was high, obviously, the two gods in the room had just finished another round of argument. Zeus, Skylar’s father, the Lord of the Gods, wore a shining bronze armour. He appeared to be a guy in his late 40s to early 50s with short dark blonde hair and stubble, just like how Skylar looked. Despite the age, he was still very handsome and for some reason, Sebastian felt he was seeing Sean Bean. His light green eyes were stormy and piercing, like he was staring into Sebastian’s soul. An aura of proudness, natural leading and strength radiated from him. A distinctive smell of ozone and sound of air crackling could be felt and got more intense as the group got closer to him.

Next to Zeus, sat a man who looked a bit younger than him but still in his mature stage of life. Like the Lord of the Gods, he was very handsome and instead of dark blonde hair, he had short straight dark brown hair and stubble, and his eyes, those deep blue with some green orbs were abyssal like the Atlantic Ocean in August. He was also wearing a set of shining bronze armour, a trident was located next to the throne. Sebastian gulped down the lump forming in his throat. It was the first time he came face to face to his birth father, after all those hellish years. He now stood in front of the two gods, and he didn’t know why he did it, probably due to nervousness, but maybe because deep within he was always a bit rebellious, he bowed to Poseidon first.

“Father.” He addressed, facing the ground. The energy and power radiating from the two gods were a bit overwhelming, not to mention they would be more than happy to blast him into dust if he said the wrong thing or spoke at inappropriate time.

“ **Shouldn’t you address the master of this house first, you impudent boy?** ” Zeus boomed on his left. Sebastian was heavily sweating while his brother and his companions were very worried about him. Skylar was going to say something but Poseidon beat him in.

“ **Oh, shut it! You drama queen!** ” The sea god snapped. Sebastian looked to his father, who turned away quickly. His handsome face had some emotions plastered on it, things like shame? “ **There is nothing wrong for a boy to defer to his father.** ”

Zeus’s face turned angrier.

“ **So you still claim him then?!** ” The Lord of the sky hissed.

“ **And why not?!** ” Poseidon snapped back. “ **I didn’t break the oath intentionally and no matter what you say, he is still my son. A living being, a life! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I want to hear him speak, as well as his companions.** ”

Zeus grumbled.

“ **I should have-** ”

“ **Just listen! Drama queen! Keep your mouth shut!** ”

Zeus grumbled even more and Poseidon ignored his brother and turned his gaze towards the group.

“ **Now, children, you may start telling us your story. But first, address Lord Zeus first.** ” The sea god spoke gently.

And so they did. Sebastian told the two Gods about what they experienced during the quest. He initially wanted to skip out parts like the narrow escape from the terrorist attack in the bus; the confrontation with the New Double-Standards and the consequent fight with Echidna and Chimera; his dreams of Tartarus and the almost fell when he first arrived the Underworld, but he felt that if he lied, the two Gods would immediately find out and punish him. But he didn’t miss the sudden gasps from Julian and the tightened grip on his shoulder whenever he mentioned that he was hurt. Glancing up, Sebastian could also see Poseidon was biting his jaw hard, like he was stopping himself from casting a curse down to the world.

As soon as the younger Smythe finished telling his tale, he took the backpack from Skylar and unzipped it. Immediately, the flickering of light, crackling of electric sparks and the smell of ozone filled the air. It seemed the bolt was eager to go back to the hands of his owner. Carefully, Sebastian took out the bolt and raised it above his head, in his kneeling position.

Zeus opened his palm and the bolt shot into his hand. When he closed his fist, the entire weapon flared into life and enlarged into a 2 metre long lightning folk, with sparks ejecting from both ends. It made the God looked even more formidable and the amount of energy he radiated and his aura increased dramatically it made the hairs on everyone’s body stood on their ends.

“ **I can feel the boy’s telling the truth.** ” Zeus grumbled, like he was going to enjoy blasting Sebastian into dust but now the reason to do so was gone. “ **But that Ares… doing such a thing… even this is very unlike for him.** ”

“My Lord…” Sebastian piped up.

“ **Yes?** ” Both Gods looked again.

“Actually… I think Ares was being used…” Sebastian then described how Ares suddenly stopped his movements and how his look suddenly turned blank like someone was whispering inside his head. “I have heard voices like that as well, it came from the Underworld, in-”

“ **So you’re accusing Hades, after all.** ” Zeus cut in.

“No, my Lord. I think it’s-” Sebastian got interrupted again.

“ **But you said it was from the Underworld.** ”

“The Underworld is very huge. I-”

“ **I know the realm clearer than you, boy.** ” Zeus boomed and Sebastian was getting impatient.

“With all due respect, **Lord Zeus,** would you kindly stop interrupting and let me finish first?” Sebastian snapped. Zeus froze before narrowing his eyes on the demigod.

“ **Mind your tone, boy. I can blast you into ashes for such rudeness.** ”

“ **You have to get through ME first.** ” Poseidon cut in as he stood next to Sebastian and in front of the group. The two gods then started a glaring contest and Sebastian decided it was a good time to start.

“As I have said, the voice actually came from the pit, Tartarus. So I don’t think Hades should be the one to be blamed.” Sebastian finished and the two Gods broke the stares and turned to look at him. They then had a quick and intense discussion in Ancient Greek. Zeus declared the case closed but Poseidon was having different thoughts. He tried to argue but Zeus started before the sea god could begin speaking.

“ **End of discussion on this matter!** ” The Lord of the Sky said angrily. “ **I must go personally to purify this holy bolt in the waters of Aegean and remove the human taint from it!** ”

“ **Is that even necessary?! You can just use the water from the fountain, no need to go across the entire Atlantic just for a little task like this!** ” Poseidon snapped. Zeus ignored him and rose to his feet. He looked down on the group and his face softened a bit.

“ **You have done me a service, boy.** ”

“I didn’t do it alone, my Lord. I had help from Francisco Valdes, Caitlin Frost and-” Sebastian tried to remind the God of the Sky that there were other people in the room who contributed in this quest, but once again, he was interrupted and Sebastian was getting fed up of this.

“ **I shall let you live as to show you my thanks. Do not push your luck, I shall let you taste this bolt for daring to fly in my domain… pah! And the impudent attitude you have.** ”

“Excuse me, sir! But I seriously believe that you should at least acknowledge the effort of my companions! They also had their parts in the quest, especially Skylar Thawne, he is your son, for Gaea’s sake!”

Zeus’s eyes morphed into a ball of churning storm clouds with fierce thundering and lightning.

“ **You dare or you think you have the right to tell me what to do? Mortal?!** ” He thundered but Sebastian stood up straight, looking as proud as the God of Sky.

“You’re right… I don’t have the right to tell a God what to do as a mortal.” He said calmly. “But as Skylar’s **friend** , I have the right because I care and I dare because no one should be ignored, let alone by their parents.”

“ **You really want to taste this bolt, right? I can-** ”

“ **My dear brother, aren’t you going to wash your precious cylinder in the water of Aegean like some mysophobia guys? It’s getting quite late, you know.** ” Poseidon snapped impatiently.

Zeus glared at Sebastian and Poseidon.

“ **Do not let me find you here when I return, otherwise I’ll make sure you taste this bolt.** ” Zeus grumbled.

“ **Just go! You drama queen!** ” Poseidon and Sebastian snapped at the same time. With a huff, Zeus left with a blinding flash of lightning and a deafening thunder.

* * *

 

An uncomfortable silence hung in the room. Caitlin, Cisco and Skylar left the room in silence, thinking Sebastian, Julian and Poseidon would need some alone time together. When being left alone, however, all that remained was an awkward silence. Sebastian looked at the sea god who looked back but would look away quickly.

“Do I make you feel ashamed?” Sebastian whispered, he was really hurt by the fact that his birth father wouldn’t even look at him in the eye. Poseidon spun around, his eyes wide.

“ **What?! No! Why would I feel that?** ” The sea god asked in shock.

“Because you don’t look at me, in some occasions that we made eye contact, you turned away quickly, looking ashamed. I get that I’m a bastard son but-” Sebastian said bitterly but was cut off by a very angry Poseidon.

“ **DON’T SAY THAT WORD!** ” The sea god bellowed and the mountain shook. He shrunk into the size of a regular man and stormed towards Sebastian until he was right in front of him, his eyes burning a deep blue colour.

“Don’t say that word…” Poseidon whispered. “I don’t care who gave birth to you… you’re my son, not a bastard… you’re too good to be that…”

“But why-” Sebastian was surprised and a bit afraid of the sea god’s sudden outburst.

“It’s not because of you…” Poseidon rubbed his face. “It’s true that I am ashamed, but I’m ashamed of me… Looking at you just reminded me how much I have failed as a father… I know the ancient law doesn’t allow me to direct interfere your life… but at least I should send more Naiads, Nereids and Cyclops to help you and your brother… I should at least let you have an innocent and happy childhood…”

Poseidon looked away and took a deep breath. Undoubtedly, Sebastian was shell-shocked. His father really cared about him, from a distance… Julian, Oceanus, Tethys, Otilah and Olivia were right about this… Yet in a strange way, Sebastian was also glad that the sea god kept his distance. If the God just swept him into a hug, whispering apologies or just told him that he loved him verbally, it would be fake like those human parents who made lame excuses or trying to compensate the child with money and materials for not being around. Sebastian swallowed the lump in his throat down and changed the topic.

“Father, is that thing down in Tartarus trying to do what I’ve been thinking?” Sebastian asked and all of a sudden, the room got a bit darker and the fire in the hearth seemed to extinguish a little and became less warm.

“What do you believe?” Poseidon asked back.

“I think he is stirring and planned to come back.” Sebastian whispered. “I can feel that… both in the dreams and the close encounter… K… Kronos was silently rising in the depths of Tartarus… He’s so obsessed with his desire of revenge… the hunger of power… He… he talked to me… told me I will suffer if I follow you… like Ki-”

Sebastian stopped himself from blurting out the name as he remembered it was a wound that would linger to eternity for Poseidon. Unfortunately, the sea god put the two and two together and stiffened immediately. Sebastian could feel a sudden change in the god’s aura, the pain, anguish, sadness, fear, shame and worry were pouring out of the sea god.

“Yeah… Killian…”

“I’m sorry for rubbing salt into your wounds.” Sebastian whispered in shame.

“It’s okay.” Poseidon whispered as he tried to control his emotions at bay.

“But I don’t believe him!” Sebastian suddenly spoke. “I know the King of Titan was lying, but I won’t fall for it!”

“Sebastian!” Poseidon cried as he grabbed onto his son’s face and looked at him in the eyes. “Relax, I have faith in you. It’s just… Killian reminded me of something I should tell you. But first, Julian.”

The older Smythe looked at the sea god in confusion.

“Hera wishes to see you. Go find her at the door.”

Julian bowed and left but not before he gripped Sebastian’s shoulder to get him relaxed.

“You’re getting really close to Thawne, right?” Poseidon whispered.

“Not very close, but we’re friends. Why?” Sebastian was very confused.

“Maybe you should stay away from him…” Poseidon whispered and Sebastian’s jaw dropped.

“Why?! Why shouldn’t I socialize with my friend?!” Sebastian cried.

“Just… just don’t get too close with him, okay? I… I can’t… I just can’t…” Poseidon turned as he let out his bottled emotions about Killian. Sebastian wanted to demand answers of why his dad forbid him from seeing his friend. But seeing him like this, he thought it was not a good time. Sighing in defeat and frustration, he whispered.

“I shall take my leave now, father.”

Sebastian bowed and left the throne room, but he was stopped a beautiful woman who intercepted him at the door.

“What’s the matter? The father-and-son talk didn’t go well?” She asked.

“Sorry, do I know you?” Sebastian asked and the woman gasped in mocked horror.

“Oh, I’m deeply hurt.” She put her hand onto her chest. “How can you forget me so soon?!”

“I’m really sorry, Ms. Podestá, but I can’t really remember that we have met before.” Sebastian apologized. Of course he knew the woman standing in front of him was not Rossana Podestá, the famous Italian actress who was best known for her role as Helen in ‘ _Helen of Troy_ ’ in 1956, but she looked so much like the beautiful actress in her most glorious day so he decided to call her Ms. Podestá anyway.

“Oh right. I forget that I’m not in this form when I first met you.” The woman said before changing her form to a familiar teenage girl. Now, Sebastian recognized her and his face fell.

“Oh, it’s you.” He said flatly.

“Of course it’s me. You have something of mine, in case you forgot.” Aphrodite replied. Sebastian really wanted to be angry, for how she and Ares tricked him and his companions to Hephaestus’s trap and resulted in the embarrassing ride, but for some reason, he just couldn’t do that.

“You know it’s a trap.” Sebastian accused.

“Yes, and you have the answer all the time but you guys are too careless.” Aphrodite giggled as she remembered the event. Sighing in defeat, Sebastian took out the scarf from his pocket and handed it to the Goddess of love.

“Thank you.” Aphrodite said gracefully. “I see that you brother has returned to you safely.”

“Yeah, but I’m not sure if I’m going to freak out if… Cooper was left in the same room with him. No offense, by the way.”

“None taken. As for the path of your brother and my son… I can see that it’s a rugged road.” Aphrodite said sadly. “But they would also be able to taste the sweetness of true love. It’s ironic. I don’t like making people’s love lives hard, but the hardships were the best method of separating true love from relationships based on deception, political interests and money.”

“I know, but I just don’t want my brother to suffer…” Sebastian cried.

“Me either… Your brother’s experience with Cooper was not what I have planned. I’m really appalled that Isaac would do such a thing to his own son. Such behaviour will not go unpunished and I will be the one who executed it. They shall all be punished, except Cooper.” Aphrodite stated. “And you can be free from your revenge. It was starting to twist your kind and pure soul. Don’t ever let that happen.”

Sebastian was dumb-struck. Aphrodite had just promised him that the Andersons, except Cooper, would pay for their actions. He could finally be free from being a jerk and be the real self of Sebastian Smythe, the kind, loving person that everyone loved. But there’s still one thing that troubled him.

“Is there something else bothering you?” The love goddess asked.

“Yeah, back in the throne room…” Sebastian began. “Poseidon told me to stay away from Skylar Thawne as much as possible… I just don’t understand why he will do that… and what does it have to do with Killian? He didn’t bring that up until I mentioned him.”

Aphrodite was silent after that before she started again.

“Do you know the story of Killian?” She gently asked. Sebastian nodded and told the goddess what he knew about the tale.

“Hmm… You had 80% of the full story.” Aphrodite nodded. “You knew that Killian was betrayed by the prince who had the closest relationship with him, right?”

“Yes. Cisco told me that.”

“That prince who betrayed your half-brother, was Prince James David Nolan.” Aphrodite calmly announced and Sebastian widened his eyes.

“Prince Nolan?! But isn’t he-”

“And he is the son of Zeus.” Aphrodite added, ignoring Sebastian’s gasp. “And about how close their relationship is, they were lovers.”

Sebastian was speechless after the reveal.

“Prince Nolan was tricked into believe that Killian was the culprit of a robbery and murder. He also revealed that Killian was a pirate. When he realized the terrible mistake he made, he tried to make it up. Gradually, the group forgave him and started to trust him and love him again. He was the first one to sacrifice himself after learning Killian died protecting them, but Poseidon had never moved on from his backstabbing. That’s why he didn’t want you to get so close with Skylar. He feared that what happened on Killian, will happen again, on you. He really cared about you, he didn’t want to lose you or see you hurt.” The love goddess quietly explained.

“But… but Prince Nolan tried to do right after learning his wrongdoings! And… and Skylar is different …” Sebastian tried to defend his friend.

“You may think like that, but your father may have other thoughts.” Aphrodite calmly told the restless demigod. “If you want to change his mind, you have to talk to him, nicely, and tried to see from his point of view.”

Sebastian looked down, his mind was getting overwhelmed by another influx of information he didn’t notice that Aphrodite had left. He was only brought out of his train of thought when someone patted on his shoulder. He looked around and saw his father, looking more decent from the emotional breakdown back at the throne room.

“Come on, I need to get you and your companions back to camp before they started thinking you’re dead.” Poseidon patted on his son’s shoulder and urged him to move forward. When they arrived the base of the stairs, Sebastian saw a beautiful woman with this maternal aura radiating standing next to his brother. The rest of his companions had this confused look on their face. The confusion increased when Poseidon and the woman walked into the elevator with them. What in Gaea’s name was happening?

* * *

 

True to Poseidon’s speculation, rumours of the group failing the quest and being dead started running wild in the camp by the time they got back. They were even going to make shrouds for them so when they saw the group returned safely, they were greeted by awe and cheers. And Sloane’s expression was priceless and Sebastian regretted that he didn’t take a picture of that when he had the time. Another interlude happened just the moment Sebastian stepped crossed the camp boundary. A cold wash of sticky liquid down his face, sliding down his shirt. He knew what was happening and possibly the one behind it. Wiping two huge globs of stickiness off his eyes to clear his vision, he saw the entire camp went silent. People, nymphs, satyrs, even Chiron froze in what they were doing. Sebastian also didn’t miss the flare of anger from the person behind him. Once his vision was clear, he saw a group people standing in front of him: the Montgomery-Chang brothers Wes, Mike and Chris, Thad, David, Nick, Jeff, Lauren, Jake and Brittany, with Santana standing in front of him, an empty cup in her hands as she looked at him smugly.

“Hi, twink.”

Sebastian raised his hand to stop his companions, his brother and father from doing or saying something rash.

“Don’t. I deserve that. After all, I’m a jerk in the past.”

“Yeah, you do and you are.” David said as they came closer.

“But it was in the **past**!” Caitlin protested but was ignored.

“So are you ready to pack your things and left before you contaminated this place?” Santana pressed and Poseidon decided that it was enough. His son might not be a nice guy in the past but he had paid for what he had done. They were even, but these brats just didn’t know when to stop.

“Are you ready to keep your mouth shut before you draw some serious trouble?” Poseidon asked with gritting teeth.

“Stay out of this, stranger. You can’t stop us.” Thad snapped and the group stopped their breath.

“Even with Poseidon watching over this?” The sea god gave out his last warning, too bad the group was so blind to see that.

“What does it have to do with Poseidon? This asshole is the son of no one.” Santana spat as a huge blast of wet, salty wind knocked the group on their butts. Where the so call stranger once stood, towered a giant version of him, glaring down at the shocked camp.

“ **You want to know why?! I will tell you why!** ” Poseidon boomed as he extended his hand and summoned his trident which started glimmering like the sea reflecting the sunlight at noon.

“ **I am Poseidon, the God of the seas, bringer of storms, creator of horses and earthquakes.** ” The sea god roared as the sea off the camp started churning. “ **And this young man you are talking to, Sebastian T. P. Smythe, is my son! The Retriever of Lord Zeus’s lightning bolt and Lord Hades’ helm of darkness and Defeater of Ares!** ”

As if on cue, a mini-trident appeared above Sebastian’s head. Around him, demigods started kneeling, some like Caitlin, Cisco, Alice and Cisco were happy; some like the rest of the campers were shocked and awe; some like Santana and her group were more reluctant. Skylar didn’t kneel, being the son of Zeus. Instead, he bowed to him in respect.

“ _So this is what Hunter told me, claiming…_ ” Sebastian thought as the demigods started to get up from their kneeling position. Santana, David and Thad, however, found themselves being turned into three tiny fish, trapped inside a small fish bowl.

“Uhm… dad? What did you do to them?” Sebastian winced at the sight as Poseidon shrunk back to the size of a regular man.

“I’m just teaching them a lesson.” The sea god explained. Sebastian opened his mouth but his father raised his hand.

“I know what you’re thinking. But I’m punishing them for being impolite, not because of the slushie. Plus, they will return to their original state after 24 hours.”

“Gentlemen.” The woman who stood by Julian spoke. “Thank you for the show but we need to move on.”

Sebastian was going to ask who she was when the woman started changing. The long black coat she wore was gone, revealing the sleeveless white gown beneath, and those pair of white arms that had a huge pair of golden bracelets around the wrist. Her long brown hair was coiled up nicely with a crown made of gold, silver and other gems resting on it. Her face was beautiful, elegant and stern. People gasped and started kneeling again, this time, even Skylar knelt as well. Realizing that this woman was much more important, Sebastian knelt just as Chiron bowed and announced loudly.

“Hail Hera, Queen of the Olympians; goddess of women, childbirth, marriage and family.” The centaur bowed again and the campers got up from their kneeling position.

“Milady, may I ask why are you here?” Skylar humbly asked.

“I’m here,” Hera announced as she straightened herself and spoke loudly so the entire camp could hear her, “to present you Julian Smythe, brother of Sebastian T. P. Smythe, champion of mine.”

Sebastian stared as his brother who shrugged, his eyes told him that he knew about this just now.

“As my champion, I shall give him my blessing in familial and matrimony power.” The Queen of the Gods announced and Julian’s body seemed to glow a holy yet soft white light. The scene was incredibly beautiful and harmonic. “He shall also be able to reside in my cabin. However, he can stay with his brother in cabin three, if Poseidon and the said brother are okay with it.”

Sebastian was thrilled, no, he was more than thrilled. His brother could stay with him in the camp! It was like his dream coming true! He turned to look at his father with a huge set of puppy eyes, silently begging his father to allow Julian stay in cabin three. Sighing, Poseidon offered his permission and Sebastian squealed before hugging the sea god, his brother and Hera tight, muttering thank you all the time. The demigods Warblers and New Directions were looking at this new Sebastian with gaping mouths. Was this really Sebastian? The asshole who is insulting and everything connected to a jerk. Their thought on him was cut short when Chiron announced a feast was happening that night, as a welcoming gift to the God and Goddess and a celebration for the group and the new champion of Hera.

* * *

 

By the time the sun was setting, Sebastian had moved all his things to cabin three from his room in cabin eleven. His friends in the cabin were both happy and sad about his claiming, but Sebastian reassured that they would keep in touch and their friendship would never be forgotten. But there was one person that he was a bit awkward to see, William. It was expected since he, after all, defeated his father. And even though the son of Ares had no malice or hatred in his eyes, they both decided that it would be better for them to avoid each other for the time being, and Teddy was willing to relay the words between the two demigods.

Soon, the horn blew, signalling the camp that the feast was about to begin. When Sebastian learnt that there would be music and people singing, an idea struck him. He would be too shy to do so if it was a few weeks earlier, but he was doing this for his friends. He intercepted Michael, Andy’s boyfriend and the person in charge of the music performance that night and offered a suggestion. The son of Apollo was not so sure about that but the younger Smythe told him that he was a part of the choir club in school and had corresponding experience. After weighing the pros and cons, Michael decided to give it a go and promised Sebastian to keep it a secret until the right time.

The feast was more than any party Sebastian had been in his past, the four demigods, who were being called heroes and heroine in Caitlin’s case, had wreaths of laurel on their heads as they sat in the central table, a privilege that heroes could have. Poseidon and Hera occupied the central seats, on Poseidon’s left sat Sebastian, Cisco and Skylar and Chiron respectively while Julian, Caitlin and Dionysus sat on Hera’s right respectively. The food and drinks being offered was much finer in quality than normal meals. People were coming up to talk with the heroes, bragging about their brilliant experience. And Caitlin must have said something because sometime in the feast, Sebastian noticed that most of the girls, but mainly Caitlin’s gang, that was Alice, Felicity, Linda, Shawna and Lisa were eyeing between him and a certain son of Zeus **and** giggling madly. The younger Smythe’s cheeks coloured as he tried not to think of what might be in the ladies’ minds. Suddenly, he thought that the fish were probably hungry too. After the punishment, Sebastian volunteered to look after them for the 24 hours, despite the protest from Poseidon and his companions. According to the demigod, forgiveness is the ultimate end of rivalries. Taking out the fish bowl, he placed it on his lap and looked into the three fish, which were originally Santana, David and Thad.

“You must be hungry.” Sebastian whispered. “I sincerely hope that you’re not allergic to the food that I’m going to give you.”

Cutting out a part of the steak, Sebastian grinded the meat to minced form with the base of his fork. He then picked up a bit of the grounded meat with his finger, slightly smaller than the fish’s mouth and put it into the water. The three fish were hesitant at first, but in the end, they gave in and started eating the food provided by Sebastian. The feeding continued for several more minutes, with different kinds of food, both meat and vegetables, until the fish were full and Sebastian noticed the Mess Hall was abnormally quiet. Looking up, he saw everyone was staring at him.

“What? They are still living beings! They will feel hungry!” Sebastian defended as his cheek started to colour again.

The resulting expressions he got were different. Most of them, including Cisco and Skylar were surprised; Dionysus looked bored, why was that not surprising; Julian, Hera and Chiron looked proud for him and had a smile on their faces; Poseidon was torn in between being proud and unhappy, like he was proud that his son had such a kind heart but at the same time he was unhappy that the three mortals who were disrespectful to him and his son could enjoy being fed. Everybody was fed and content, now it was time for singing. Everybody cheered as they walked down to the amphitheatre. And under the star light, as well as around the hearth, the people sang and danced, letting out their youthfulness and joy, all the fights and suspicions were gone like ash in the wind, thanks to Michael, the son of Apollo was really talented in incorporating music into the event to maximize the mood of the crowd.

“And now! Time for the crowd’s favourite, the group singing from led by Apollo’s cabin and talented singers and musicians from other cabins!” Michael shouted into the microphone and everybody cheered again. The stage turned dark and no one uttered a voice. Then suddenly, the sound of the orchestra, with the back-up of a pipe organ, blared as light shone down onto the choir and orchestra on the stage. The crowd cheered as they started to sing. ( **Male** , _Female_ , **_Both_** )

**_Morning in Paris, the city awakes  
_** **_To the bells of Notre Dame  
_ ** **_The fisherman fishes, the baker-man bakes  
_** **_To the bells of Notre Dame_ ** ****

**_To the big bells as loud as the thunder  
_** **_To the little bells soft as a psalm  
_ ** **_And some say the soul of the city’s  
_ ** **_The toll of the bells  
_ ** ****_The bells of Notre Dame_

_Dark was the night when our tale was begun  
_ _On the docks near Notre Dame  
_ _Four frightened gypsies slid silently under  
_ _The docks near Notre Dame_

**_But a trap had been laid for the gypsies  
_** **_And they gazed up in fear and alarm  
_ ** **_At a figure whose clutches  
_ ** **_Were iron as much as the bells  
_ ** ****_The bells of Notre Dame_

**_Kyrie Eleison (Lord have mercy)_ **

**_Judge Claude Frollo longed  
_ ** **_To purge the world  
_ ** ****_Of vice and sin_

**_Kyrie Eleison (Lord have mercy)_ **

**_And he saw corruption  
_** **_Ev’rywhere  
_ ** ****_Except within_

**Dies irae,** _Dies irae,_ **dies illa,** _dies illa_ **(Day of wrath,** _Day of wrath,_ **that day,** _that day_ **)  
** ** _Solvet saeclum in favilla (Shall consume the world in ashes)  
_** **Teste David cum sibylla (As prophesied by David and the sibyl)  
** ** _Quantus tremor est futurus (What trembling is to be)  
_** **** _Quando Judex est venturus (When the Judge is come)_

**_Quantus tremor est futurus (What trembling is to be)  
_ ** **_Quando Judex est venturus (When the Judge is come)_ **

**_Dies irae, dies illa (Day of wrath, that day)_   
** **_Solvet saeclum in favilla (Shall consume the world in ashes)  
_** **_Dies irae, dies illa (Day of wrath, that day)_ **

**Now here is a riddle to guess if you can  
** **Sing the bells of Notre Dame  
** **Who is the monster and who is the man?**

**_Sing the bells, bells, bells, bells  
_** ** _Bells, bells, bells, bells  
_** **** _Bells of Notre Dame!_  

The mood changed suddenly as the orchestra started playing another song.

**_Come one, come all!  
_** **_Leave your loops and milking stools  
_ ** **_Coop the hens and pen the mules  
_ ** **_Come one, come all!  
_ ** **_Close the churches and the schools  
_ ** **_It’s the day for breaking rules  
_ ** ****_Come and join the feast of..._

**_Fools!_ **

**_Once a year we throw a party here in town  
_ ** **_Once a year we turn all Paris upside down  
_ ** **_Ev’ry man’s a king and ev’ry king’s a clown  
_ ** ****_Once again it’s Topsy Turvy Day_

**_It’s the day the devil in us gets released  
_** **_It’s the day we mock the prig and shock the priest  
_ ** ****_Ev’rything is topsy turvy at the Feast of Fools!_

**_Ev’rybody!_ **

**_Once a year we throw a party here in town (Hail to the king!)  
_ ** **_Once a year we turn all Paris upside down (Oh, what a king!)  
_ ** **_Once a year, the ugliest will wear a crown (Girls, give a kiss)  
_ ** ****_Once a year on Topsy Turvy Day (We’ve never had a king like this)_

**_And it’s the day we do the things that we deplore  
_ ** **_On the other three hundred and sixty-four  
_ ** **_Once a year we love to drop in  
_ ** ****_Where the beer is never stoppin’_

**_For the chance to pop some popinjay  
_ ** **_And pick a king who’ll put the “top” in  
_ ** ****_Topsy Turvy Day!_

A quiet melody played and a very handsome young man came to the front. The audience started wolf-calling while Caitlin blushed. That lad on the stage, was her boyfriend, Ronnie Barnes. Looking straight at his girlfriend, the son of Hephaestus softly sang.

**So many times out here  
** **I’ve watched a happy pair  
** **Of lovers walking in the night  
** **They had a kind of glow around them  
** **It almost looked like heaven’s light**

**I knew I’d never know  
** **That warm and loving glow  
** **Though I might wish with all my might  
** **No face as hideous as my face  
** **Was ever meant for heaven’s light**

“ _Liar!_ ” Someone in the audience shouted and the crowd started laughing.

**But suddenly an angel has smiled at me  
** **And kissed my cheek without a trace of fright**   


**I dare to dream that she  
** **Might even care for me  
** **And as I ring these bells tonight  
** **My cold dark tower seems so bright  
** **I swear it must be heaven’s light!**

Ronnie blew a kiss to Caitlin before returning to the group, with the audience clapping.

**_Paris, the city of lovers  
_ ** **_Is glowing this evening  
_ ** **_True, that’s because it’s on fire  
_ ** ****_But still, there’s “l’amour”_

**_Somewhere out there in the night  
_ ** **_Her Heart is also alight  
_ ** **_And I know the guy she just might  
_ ** ****_Be burning for_

**_A guy like you  
_ ** **_She’s never known, kid  
_ ** **_A guy like you  
_ ** ****_A girl does not meet ev’ry day_

**_You’ve got a look  
_ ** **_That’s all your own, kid  
_ ** **_Could there be two?  
_ ** **_Like you?  
_ ** ****_No way!_

**_Those other guys  
_ ** **_That she could dangle  
_ ** **_All look the same  
_ ** **_From ev’ry boring point of view  
  
_ ** **_You’re a surprise  
_** **_From ev’ry angle  
_ ** **_Mon Dieu above  
_ ** **_She’s gotta love  
_ ** ****_A guy like you_

**_A guy like you  
_ ** **_Gets extra credit  
_ ** **_Because it’s true  
_ ** ****_You’ve got a certain something more_

**_You see that face  
_ ** **_You don’t forget it  
_ ** **_Want something new?  
_ ** ****_That’s you for sure!_

**_We all have gaped  
_ ** **_At some Adonis  
_ ** **_But then we crave a meal  
_ ** **_More nourishing to chew  
_ ** ****_And since you’ve shaped_

**_Like a croissant is  
_ ** **_No question of  
_ ** **_She’s gotta love  
_ ** ****_A guy like you!_

The mood turned softer as Alice came forward, looking even more beautiful than Sebastian first met her, and her voice was incredibly angelic as well. ( **Alice** , _Chorus_ , **_All_** )

**God help the outcasts  
** **Hungry from birth  
** **Show them the mercy  
** **They don’t find on earth**

**The lost and forgotten  
** **They look to you still  
** **God help the outcasts  
** **Or nobody will**

_I ask for wealth, I ask for fame  
_ _I ask for glory to shine on my name  
_ _I ask for love I can possess  
_ _I ask for God and His angels to bless me…_

**I ask for nothing  
** **I can get by  
** **But I know so many  
** **Less lucky than I**

**_God help the outcasts  
_ ** **_The poor and downtrod  
_ ** **_I thought we all were all were  
_ ** ****_The children of god_

**God help the outcasts,  
** **Children of God...**

Alice bowed, the crowded cheered and the African-American lady elegantly returned to the group.

**Maybe you’ve heard of a terrible place  
** **Where the scoundrels of Paris  
** **Collect in a lair**

**Maybe you’ve heard of that mythical place  
** **Called the Court of Miracles  
** **Hello, you’re there!  
** **Where the lame can walk  
** **And the blind can see**

**But the dead don’t talk  
** **So you won’t be around  
** **To reveal what you’ve found  
** **We have a method for spies and intruders  
** **Rather like hornets protecting their hive  
** **Here in the Court of Miracles  
** **Where it’s a miracle if you get out alive!**

A hit from the drum and the final score of the medley began, Michael came forward. Sebastian stood up secretly and disappeared into the backstage, like what the son of Apollo had told him. ( **Michael** , _Chorus_ , **_Both_** )

**Safe behind these windows and these parapets of stone  
** **Gazing at the people down below me  
** **All my life I watch them as I hide up here alone  
** **Hungry for the histories they show me**

**All my life I memorize their faces  
** **Knowing them as they will never know me  
** **All my life I wonder how it feels to pass a day  
** **Not above them…  
** **But part of them…**

The rest of the choir joined in, sewing a complicated yet beautiful picture with lots of texture.

_And out there  
_ _Living in the sun  
_ _Give me one day out there  
_ _All I ask is one  
_ _To hold forever_

**Out there  
** **Where they all live unaware  
** **What I’d give  
** **What I’d dare  
** **Just to live one day out there**  

 _Out there among the millers and the weavers and their wives  
_ _Through the roofs and gables I can see them  
_ _Ev’ry day they shout and scold and go about their lives  
_ _Heedless of the gift it is to be them_  
 **If I was in their skin  
** **I'd treasure ev’ry instant**  

**_Out there  
_** **_Strolling by the Seine  
_ ** **_Taste a morning out there  
_ ** **_Like ordinary men  
_ ** ****_Who freely walk about there_

**Just one day and then  
** **I swear I’ll be content**

The mood, melody and the singing voices started piling up, paving the way to the climax.

**With my share  
** _Won’t resent  
_ _Won’t despair  
_ _Old and bent  
_ **_I won’t care  
_ ** **_I’ll have spent  
_ ** **_One day  
_ ** ****_Out there!_

The voices of the choir and orchestra hung in the air as the light dimmed down. The crowd started screaming on top of their lungs.

“Where’s Sebastian?” Cisco called to his two friends over the cheering audience.

“No idea!” Caitlin shouted back while Skylar shrugged. 

“Thank you everyone!” Michael cried into the microphone as the cheer calmed down. “Wow, guys! It’s a very brilliant performance and I’m sure that everyone was having fun but alas, it’s getting late and the feast will have to end soon. Oh no!”

The son of Apollo fake-sobbed, earning several laughs from the audience, but he then straightened himself.  
  
“But before we end this wonderful night, there’s one more person who would like to perform one last song. His exact words, as I quoted, are ‘ _It was for everybody of the camp, but particularly one person, my friend Francisco Valdes._ ’ Now, ladies and gentlemen, enjoy this surprise encore piece.”

Stares were directed towards the very shocked son of Hephaestus as the said person was looking at Caitlin and Skylar with confusion and shock. As the introduction of the song began, people started whispering and the trio looked at the stage in disbelief. Sebastian wouldn’t be up there singing?

 **I have often dreamed  
** **Of a far off place  
** **Where a hero’s welcome  
** **Would be waiting for me**  

“ _It’s the voice I heard several weeks ago!_ ” They heard Lucas told his siblings and friends as more whispering could be heard, speculating who the singer with this beautiful and powerful voice was.

 **Where the crowds will cheer  
** **When they see my face  
** **And a voice keeps saying  
** **This is where I’m meant to be**  

The lights came up and revealed a short brown-haired green-eyed demigod, wearing a long-sleeve blue shirt with brownish-red squares pattern, skin-tight dark blue jeans and a pair of black sneakers, standing in the front of the stage and sang beautiful. Gasps ran through the audience, some boys were whispering ‘ _Holy shit!_ ’ as Sebastian continued to sing with all the passion he had.

**I’ll be there someday  
** **I can go the distance  
** **I will find my way  
** **If I can be strong**

**I know ev’ry mile  
** **Will be worth my while  
** **When I go the distance  
** **I’ll be right where I belong**

The music picked up force, so did Sebastian’s voice. It blended into the score so perfectly it strummed the strings in the audience’s heart.

**Down an unknown road  
** **To embrace my fate  
** **Though the road may wander  
** **It will lead me to you**

**And a thousand years  
** **Would be worth the wait  
** **It may take a lifetime  
** **But somehow I’ll see it through**

**And I won’t look back  
** **I can go the distance  
** **And I’ll stay on track  
** **No I won’t accept defeat**

**It’s an uphill slope  
** **But I won’t lose hope  
** **Till I go the distance  
** **And my journey is complete**

“ _How perfect can this hottie get?_ ” A boy from Aphrodite’s cabin swooned.

“ _His voice is freaking awesome! I have never cried from hearing a song before! But here… I’m feeling the water flowing down my cheeks!_ ” A girl from Hephaestus’s cabin cried to her friends who nodded back at her. They too were crying.

“ _I have never, in my wildest imagination, thought that a voice like that would come from a son of Poseidon. If he still hadn’t been claimed, I would have bet that he’s a son of Apollo._ ”

**But to look beyond the glory is the hardest part  
** **For a hero’s strength is measured by his heart**

**Like a shooting star  
** **I will go the distance  
** **I will search the world  
** **I will face its harms**

The crowd stopped their breath as the high notes approached, would the son of Poseidon be able to nail them?

**I don’t care how far  
** **I can go the distance  
** **Till I find my hero’s welcome  
** **Waiting in your arms…**

And he nailed it! To the point of perfection! The crowd had never thought a person’s singing could create so much emotion in their hearts.

**I will search the world  
** **I will face its harms  
** **Till I find my hero’s welcome  
** **Waiting in your arms…**

The song finished with Sebastian’s voice softly echoing in the cool night air. Silence followed, then suddenly, cheers and applause roared out from the audience as they got on their feet to give the son of Poseidon a standing ovation. He gracefully bowed and left the stage. The night was perfect, he thought with a smile as he walked in the darkness of the backstage.  
   
Maybe a bit too perfect, Sebastian’s face fell when he saw someone got in his way who revealed to be Sloane. 

**TBC…**

***For those who wondered who is Rossana Podesta, this is a few pictures of how she looked in two very famous film:**

**Helen in "Helen of Troy" (1956)**

[ ](http://static.cinemagia.ro/img/db/movie/01/44/62/helen-of-troy-634436l.jpg)

**Nausicaa in "Ulysses" (1954)**

** **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How do you feel about the songs I used? Michael Arden definitely nailed “Out There” perfectly.
> 
> Songs/Background music used:
> 
> “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame Medley” – Alan Menken  
> [The Bells of Notre-Dame: Group number;  
> Topsy Turvy: Group number;  
> Heaven’s Light: Ronnie Barnes solo;  
> A Guy Like You: Group number;  
> God Help The Outcasts: Alice West solo with backup chorus;  
> The Court of Miracles: Group number;  
> Out There: Michael Lasile solo with backup chorus]
> 
> “Go The Distance” – Michael Bolton
> 
> Reviews are loved.


	14. Epilogue: Down An Unknown Road

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, guys… the last chapter of this story. Remember the last stance of the prophecy, guys. Something will happen in this chapter.
> 
> This story is NOT for Blaine, Klaine and Finn lovers. OOC is bound to happen. Don’t like, don’t read. Flames will be thrown into the Pacific Ocean.
> 
> Warning: Language.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing other than the plot and my own OCs. Emily, Julian and the relationship of Juliper belong to Cacophonylights. Carmichael belongs to my dearest friend, Eraman. Some settings in the story belong to Rick Riordan. I also DO NOT own the songs I used in this story.

Sebastian was feeling really content and happy about the night. He finished the quest, brought back his brother and reconciled with his father. He even learnt that the Andersons, except Cooper, were going to pay for what they did by Aphrodite herself. Then he sang a song meant for everyone in the camp, but especially his friend Cisco. It couldn’t be any better, at least it was how he felt before Sloane the bitch intercepted him. Not wanting the bitch to ruin his good mood, he turned a blind eye on her, he had some friends to meet and three fish to look after. Too bad the hater wouldn’t leave him alone.

“Hey, you!” The blonde snapped, Sebastian merely rolled his eyes.

“Hey, Sloane. How may I help you?”

“So that bastard you brought here was the one who stole Cooper’s heart away?” Sloane snarled and Sebastian turned his head abruptly to glare at her.

“You say one more bad-thing about my brother, I’ll make sure you regret the day you were born.” Sebastian hissed and the bitch narrowed her eyes.

“Your brother?! So it’s true then. You two are the banes, you and your slutty bro-” Her sentence was cut short when Sebastian slapped on her face hard.

“I’m not kidding when I said you’ll regret for what you said about him.” Sebastian sneered.

To his surprise, Sloane just started to laugh.

“And I told you that you’ll be sorry for messing with me.” The daughter of Aphrodite pulled up a sinister smile. “I have a powerful being as my patron you won’t even know before you died in agony.”

“You mean your mom? Sorry, but I don’t think she approve your whiny, childish and lunatic behaviour.”

Sloane snorted, and Sebastian should be more alert when she did that but he was too angry with the bitch insulting his brother.

“There’re so much more for you to learn, Smythe.” Sloane sneered. “Enjoy the days, because you won’t have many left.”

She left and disappeared in the darkness. Sebastian took a deep breath and returned to his new cabin. All his things had been transported and unpacked… wait where does that box come from? The son of Poseidon stared at a red box occupying a corner. He put down the fish bowl just as the box shook. Sebastian opened the lid and jumped away immediately as a creature shot out from the container, a black scorpion the size of his hand. The son of Poseidon recognized that, it was included in ‘ _An Introduction to Greek Monsters_ ’, a pit scorpion from Tartarus which could jump 6 metres high with a sting that could impale an armour and venom ferocious enough to kill in 60 seconds. Who send this thing to him? How did that person get a hold on such dangerous creature? Sebastian had a dreadful feeling that he knew who that person was as he went to his pocket to get his swords. The poisonous creature lunged again but was cut in half by a swing of Turbulent. As the scorpion turned into dust, Sebastian noticed an excruciating pain in his arm. There’s a huge welt on his forearm, red, swollen with black veins spreading fast. His legs wobbled and the sword dropped to the ground. He only had one minute, he crawled towards the fountain and squeezed himself into the water but little help was offered, the poison was too strong and Sebastian lost conscious.

* * *

 

He regained his grasp on the living world when he heard people talking near him and a fluid tasted like liquid chocolate with sweetened cream was gently pumped into his mouth. He groaned as the noise grew louder and clearer.

“That’s enough nectar. You’re going to burn him up.” He recognized Chiron’s voice.

“We should move on to water. Can someone go get the lake or river water?” Caitlin…

“I suggest seawater.” Cisco… what’re they doing here?

“Enough you two, you’re disturbing him.” Came Skylar’s impatient voice. A soft hand gently combed his hair, and there’s only one person who would do that, his brother.

“Sebby, are you awake?” Julian asked gently.

“W… water…” He croaked, his voice rasp and raw.

Skylar handed the demigod a cup of water. Sebastian gulped down the water greedily and felt the pain lessened immediately. By the time he finished draining the cup, he sat up, much to the dismay to his friends and brother.

“The second time…” He groaned. “How’re my fish?”

Everyone in the room stared at him in shock.

“Are you serious?! You almost died! And all you can think of is the **FISH?!** ” Caitlin shrieked.

“I just want to make sure they’re alright!” Sebastian defended. “They won’t stand a chance against that monster!”

“Monster?! What monster?! Where is it?!” Julian and Chiron demanded.

“It’s dead but-” Sebastian stated but was interrupted by a worried sick Caitlin.

“What happened? We’re going to find you as soon as the show was over but when we reached your cabin, we found you unconscious in the fountain, looking green and turning grey. If Cisco hadn’t brought his daily first-aid kit with him…”

“A pit scorpion stung me.” Sebastian whispered and the entire group gasped in horror.

“Pit scorpion?! But… but we don’t have such monster in the camp! Is that right, Chiron?” Cisco asked. The centaur shook his head.

“Pit scorpion was too dangerous it was forbidden to be brought in the camp.”

“But why-”

“The person who last talked to me summoned it, in secret.” Sebastian cut in. “That person must really hate me…”

“Who is that fucker?!” Caitlin demanded. “Is it Michael?!”

“No, not him.” Sebastian shook his head.

“Sebby, who did you last talk to?” Julian asked, gripping tight on his baby brother.

“Sloane.”

Immediately, Skylar, Caitlin and Cisco sneered.

“I should have known this! That bitch was nothing but an ill-guest!” Caitlin hissed.

“Let’s go on a bitch hunt!” Cisco snarled.

“You can’t. The Aphrodite’s cabin just reported to me that she had gone missing. A searching team is now looking for her.” Chiron calmly cut in.

“Don’t care.” Cisco snapped. “We are going to hunt that bitch down. She’ll be sorry for messing with my friend.”

“There’s more. She told me that I’ll regret for messing with her, since she had a powerful patron backing her up. And that patron is not Aphrodite.” Sebastian added quietly.

“Then who is-” Cisco asked but then the answer dawned on them.

“Fuck…”

“Yeah… fuck, indeed.” Sebastian smiled wearily.

“This must be reported to the Olympic immediately. I should be going and the searching for Sloane will stop.” Chiron said as he stood up. “Oh, by the way, Sebastian, I need you to decide if you’re going to stay at the camp year-round or be a summer camper. Tell me you decision when you’ve fully thought of that. Julian, you may want to do the same too.”

The centaur left, Cisco, Skylar and Caitlin took their leave as well, knowing the Smythe brothers would like to have some alone time themselves. Caitlin kissed Sebastian on the cheek while Cisco patted on his shoulder, telling him to get well soon as they all had a bitch to hunt down, Sebastian laughed at that. Skylar, on the other hand, looked uncertain of what he should do, but in the end, he squeezed his shoulder.

“Please be well, don’t die.” He whispered before left the room in a hurry. Sebastian started blushing at the son of Zeus’s words. Julian’s lip corner twitched upward, there was something fishy going on between his baby brother and the blonde.

* * *

 

“How long have I been out? And you still haven’t told me how my fish are doing.” Sebastian pouted and Julian sighed.

“You have been out for one and a half day, gave us a heart-attack when we found you.” He said and frowned when his brother tried to sit up.

“Sebby, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“But Jules, I want to sit by the window, I want to see the ocean.” Sebastian whined. The older Smythe shook his head fondly.

“Just wait here.” He then went to set up the sofa bed next to the window. Gently, he helped Sebastian get to his feet and walked to the sofa bed. The younger Smythe sighed as he slumped against the soft cushions on the furniture with his brother on his side.

“Sorry brother… for making you worried.” Sebastian began but was silenced by Julian.

“Shh… Be more careful from now on, okay? You’re all I have now. Don’t hurt yourself again, promise me?”

“I promise… So what about my fish?”

“Your fish are fine.” The older Smythe ruffled his baby brother’s hair. “They turned back to humans when the 24 hour time limit was over and they were being retrieved by their cabins. The shortest guy-”

“Thad.”

“Thad was retrieved by Emily. The African guy and Latina-”

“David and Santana.”

“David and Santana are retrieved by Leonard and Lisa. The case is closed, I guess.”

“Good. I guess that should teach them a lesson to keep their mouth shut. And I believe the Hermes’ cabin are going to tease them for the rest of their lives… Poor Thad, poor David, poor Santana…”

“Well, they brought it all by themselves.” Julian said as he gently combed his brother’s hair and washed his face with a cloth.

“So what are you going to do? Stay here as a year-rounder or just stay for the summer?” Sebastian asked as he leant against his brother’s chest who gently embraced him.

“I’ll probably just stay for the summer. After all, I still have a work here, in New York.” Julian gently rocked himself back and forth, just like all those years in the past, when Sebastian had a bad day, the two of them would just sit there by the window with a mug of warm chocolate and some marshmallows. Sebastian just sighed in content against the warmth of his brother and the cool sea breeze coming in through the opened window.

“What about you? What’s on your mind?” Julian gently asked. “Do you plan to stay here and be a year-rounder or be a summer-camper? I respect your choice no matter what.”

Sebastian smiled, feeling really grateful that he had such a caring brother.

“I’m going to stay here till the end of summer, that’s for sure. The second term is almost over anyway, it’ll be a waste of time if I go back to Dalton this moment. And I think I’m going to stay in Dalton for the rest of the high school time. It is our home, after all. We have lots of memories.” Sebastian looked out of the window. “And to be honest, I’m happy with both options, as long as you’re by my side.”

“That’s right, Sebby. Don’t linger on the bitter and pain ones; cherish the sweet and joyful ones.” Julian nodded his head in approval.

The two brothers smiled at each other before they both looked out from the window, to the seashore and into the darkening sky as the sun set behind them. What path lay before him? What would be his future? Sebastian didn’t know. But as long as he was with his brother and his new-made friends, he would never feel lost or alone.

**The End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it’s the end. Should I continue Sebastian’s journey? Please let me know.

**Author's Note:**

> So this is the first chapter. How do you guys feel about it? Should I continue this?
> 
> Songs/Background music used:
> 
> Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again – Emmy Rossum  
> -From "The Phantom of The Opera"
> 
> I Don't Know How To Love Him – Jenna Ushkowitz  
> -From "Glee"
> 
> A Drop In The Ocean – Ron Pope
> 
> Bad – Glee Casts  
> -From "Glee"
> 
> Reviews are loved.


End file.
